Séminaire présenté par Hervé Cadiou - INCI - Strasbourg

Dernière mise à jour

Cellular and molecular bases of animal magnetic orientation

Par : Hervé CADIOU - INCI - Strasbourg
Date : jeudi 20 février à 13h30
Lieu : IPHC-DEPE, bibliothèque bâtiment 60

Résumé :

It is well established that animals use visual and chemical cues for long distance migration and other navigational tasks. However, these cues are not always present (overcast skies, deep oceans). Animals would therefore need to rely on a permanently present cue such as the geomagnetic field (GMF). Accumulation of evidence over the past 50 years does indeed suggest that animals utilise the GMF and possess an additional sense. Nonetheless, the mechanisms by which a specialised cell can transduce magnetic information to the brain remain elusive. The most recent advances in the field suggest two mechanisms : A photochemical reaction or the presence of biogenic magnetite. Focussing on the later the speaker will present his latest results on the presence of candidate magnetoreceptor cells within vertebrates olfactory epithelium.