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Dogs and primates see magnetic fields

02.03.2016

Some animals have the ability of magnetoreception, that is, they can notice magnetic fields. Now scientists have found that the molecules responsible for this trait are also found in the eyes of dogs and some primates, which means they too can see magnetic fields.

Cryptochromes are a common group of light-sensitive molecules that exist in bacteria, plants, and animals. In addition to regulating circadian rhythms, these specialized proteins allow some animals (birds, insects, fish, and reptiles) to sense magnetic fields, thus allowing them to sense direction, height, and location. Some mammals, such as bats and moles, also have this ability, but its distribution among other mammalian species is virtually unknown.

Now, in the first study of its kind, scientists at the Max Planck Institute and several other institutions have examined the presence of a version of this molecule called cryptochrome 1 in the retinas of 90 mammalian species. It turned out that canine carnivores like dogs, wolves, bears, foxes, and badgers have it, but cats don't. And among primates, orangutans, rhesus monkeys, crabeater monkeys, and others have cryptochrome 1. Details of the study can be found in Nature Scientific Reports.

Although magnetoreception is considered the "sixth sense", it is actually related to vision. Magnetic fields activate cryptochrome 1 in the retina, and animals "see" the slope of the magnetic field lines relative to the earth's surface. Active cryptochrome 1 is located in the light-sensitive outer segments of the mammalian "cones", and therefore the researchers believe that they are responsible for magnetic perception, and not for controlling circadian rhythms or some other visual capabilities.

It's not entirely clear how mammals like dogs and primates use magnetoreception, but foxes can help here. When they hunt, more successful attacks on mice are carried out by attacking from the northeast direction. In primates, a built-in compass can affect the orientation of the body in space, or it can be just an evolutionary atavism, now practically unused.

The next step for scientists will be to prove that animals are using cryptochrome 1 to its full potential, or that the molecule is performing some other task in the retina.

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