Cuticulosome Explained

The cuticulosome is a spherical, iron-rich structure located in the cuticular plate of auditory and vestibular hair cells in birds.^{[1] [2]} Cuticulosomes are 300-600 nm in diameter and are composed of ferritin-like granules that in some cases are structured in paracrystalline arrays. Due to its specific location in sensory hair cells of the inner ear and its iron-rich composition it was proposed to be involved in the magnetic sense of birds. However, physical simulations and calculations showed that it lacks sufficient magnetic susceptibility to act as a torque based magnetoreceptor.^[3] An alternative hypothesis suggests that the cuticulosome might work as an intracellular electromagnetic oscillator to detect magnetic fields.

Notes and References

1. Lauwers. Mattias. Pichler. Paul. Edelman. Nathaniel Bernard. Resch. Guenter Paul. Ushakova. Lyubov. Salzer. Marion Claudia. Heyers. Dominik. Saunders. Martin. Shaw. Jeremy. May 2013. An Iron-Rich Organelle in the Cuticular Plate of Avian Hair Cells. Current Biology. 23. 10. 924–929. 10.1016/j.cub.2013.04.025. 23623555. 0960-9822. free.
2. Nimpf. Simon. Erich Pascal Malkemper. Malkemper. Erich Pascal. Lauwers. Mattias. Ushakova. Lyubov. Nordmann. Gregory. Wenninger-Weinzierl. Andrea. Burkard. Thomas R. Jacob. Sonja. Heuser. Thomas. 2017-11-15. Subcellular analysis of pigeon hair cells implicates vesicular trafficking in cuticulosome formation and maintenance. eLife. en. 6. 10.7554/elife.29959. 2050-084X. 5699870. 29140244 . free .
3. Jandacka. Petr. Burda. Hynek. Pistora. Jaromir. 2015-01-06. Magnetically induced behaviour of ferritin corpuscles in avian ears: can cuticulosomes function as magnetosomes?. Journal of the Royal Society Interface. en. 12. 102. 20141087. 10.1098/rsif.2014.1087. 1742-5689. 4277103. 25551148.