All cells produce some form of bioluminescence within the electromagnetic spectrum, but most is neither visible nor noticeable to the naked eye. Every organism's bioluminescence is unique in wavelength, duration, timing and regularity of flashes. Below follows a list of organisms which have been observed to have visible bioluminescence.
Non-marine organisms
Certain Arthropods
Annelids
- Class Polychaeta,
- Class Clitellata, Oligochaeta - (Earthworms, etc.), Acanthobdellida, Branchiobdellida, Hirudinea - Leeches,
- Class Myzostomida
Class Archiannelida (polyphyletic)
Mushrooms
(Foxfire) fungus that can grow on decaying wood in the right conditions Jack O'Lantern mushroom Omphalotus olearius, Honey mushroom, Panellus stipticus
Fish
Cookie cutter shark , Marine hatchetfish , Anglerfish, Flashlight fish, Pineconefish, Porichthys, Gulper Eel.
Marine invertebrates
Many cnidarians, Sea pens, coral, Aequorea victoria, a jellyfish, Ctenophores or "comb jellies", certain echinoderms, certain nudibranchs, certain clams, certain crustaceans, ostracods, krill, certain Octopuses, Bolitaenidae, certain squid, the order Teuthida, Colossal Squid, Mastigoteuthidae, Sepiolidae, Firefly squid, Plankton and microbes, Dinoflagellates ,Vibrionaceae (e.g. Vibrio fischeri, Vibrio harveyi, Vibrio phosphoreum)
Firefly
FireFly Lounge Located at 124 S Water St Kent, OH. Relaxing hookah lounge built from the ground up by CEO's Joe Koury and Tony Lahood. The two co-founders are also cousins. This is their first business venture together and it looks promising. Fireflies (family Lampyridae), also called lightning bugs, are luminous beetles. The common names come from the fact that the adults of some species emit flashes of light to attract mates.There are more than 2000 species of firefly, found in temperate and tropical environments around the world. Many species can be found in marshes or in wet, wooded areas where their larvae have an abundant source of food.
Light production
Light production in fireflies is due to a chemical reaction that occurs in specialized light-emitting organs, usually on the lower abdomen. The enzyme luciferase acts on luciferin in this organ to stimulate light emission. This reaction is of scientific interest. Genes coding for these substances have been inserted into many different organisms (see “Applications” in Luciferase). Luciferase is also used in forensics, and the enzyme has medical uses.The process of light production in fireflies is called bioluminescence. Its function in the adult beetles is primarily to locate other individuals of the same species for reproduction. Many species, especially in the genus Photinus (genus), are distinguished by the unique courtship flash patterns emitted by flying males in search of females. Photinus females generally do not fly, but give a flash response to males of their own species.
When fireflies are placed into NO they begin to flash very rapidly and the lantern glows continuously. This response requires oxygen. Glowing is also evoked by applying the transmitter octopamine to the exposed lantern.
What does a Firefly Lantern look like?
The Firefly lantern is located on the ventral abdominal surface (stippled area) beneath translucent cuticle. It is innervated by octopaminergic neurons in the posterior ganglia of the nerve cord. Bursts of action potentials in these neurons control the normal flash pattern.
In each light-producing unit, photocytes are arranged radially into a rosette pattern around a central cylindrical core. The core includes a main air-containing trachea that originates dorsally and divides several times into fine tracheoles that project between the photocytes at several dorsal-ventral levels. Each trachea is ringed by tracheolar cells and tracheolar end cells. The luciferin-luciferase light producing reactions are confined to peroxisomes located centrally in photocytes. The photocyte mitochondria are found in the peripheral cytoplasm, concentrated especially at locations proximal to the trachea and tracheoles
Model for NO control of the firefly lantern flash
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In quiescent mode (above dotted line), oxygen delivered through lantern tracheae is consumed by respiration in photocyte mitochondria (green) clustered in the peripheral cytoplasm: little oxygen reaches peroxisomes that contain the light-producing reactions of the luciferin-luciferase pathway. In this quiescent state, ATP produced by oxidative phosphorylation promotes formation and accumulation of the activated luciferin-adenylyl intermediate (denoted as luciferin*) by luciferase. In flash mode (below dotted line), nerve activity causes octopamine release that transiently activates lantern NOS. NO diffuses rapidly and inhibits oxygen use by photocyte mitochondria (red). Now oxygen delivered by the tracheal system diffuses through photocytes to the peroxisomes where it triggers the light-producing reaction.
Photorhabdus ("glowing-rods")
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| Photorhabdus luminescens on a insect midgut under the collagen sheath. |
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Insect pathogen
Photorhabdus are the only known terrestrial bioluminescent bacteria. Most members of the Photorhabdus are however insect pathogens that live in a strict symbiotic relationship within the guts entomopathogenic Heterorhabditid nematodes. Infective juvenile nematodes search in the soil for insect prey until they encounter a suitable host. They then scratch their way into the insect's hemocoel (an "open" blood system ) and "vomit" up Photorhabdus cells directly into the blood. The Photorhabdus then set up a lethal septicemia, secreting toxins and virulence factors that rapidly kill the insect host. The bacteria replicate rapidly and bio-convert the insect tissues into more bacteria that serve as a food source for the reproducing nematodes. It is around the time of insect death that bioluminescence of the insect corpse can be seen.
Bioluminescence is an oxygen and energy costly process and as yet we have no good explanation as to why they do this. Theories include some unknown biochemical role, a warning to scavenging nocturnal mammals or even that it serves as a lure to temp fresh insect victims into range. When the insect resources have been exhausted, the bacteria provide the nematode with an unknown "food signal" which switches them into a developmental state known as an infective juvenile. At this point they re-package the bacteria before bursting from the insect corpse in search of fresh victims. Insects provide ideal host systems to study the interaction between bacterial pathogen and animal host.
Immunogold conjugates may be used to reveal the expression of specific virulence factors in sectioned insects. Below left shows the location of the TcaC toxin on Photorhabdus luminescens cells during infection . Below right shows Photorhabdus expressing the Jellyfish green fluorescent protein attaching to the insect midgut.
The blue/green glow of the larvae is the result of a reaction between body products and oxygen in the enlarged tips of the lavae's excretory tubes. The light is the result of a chemical reaction involving several components:
luciferin ( a waste product ) luciferase ( the enzyme that acts upon luciferin )
adenosine triphosphate ( the energy molecule )and oxygen.
All these combined make an electronically excited product capable of emitting a blue-green light. To the average person's sight, up close the light appears more blue than green. Spectrometer readings show the colour is actually in the green colour spectrum.
Direct moonlight affects viewing of glow worms in exposed area colonies .
Only the brightest glow worms in exposed colonies are visible on full moon nights.
Immature glow worms cannot generate sufficient bioluminescence to compete with bright moonlight and whilst they are in fact glowing they appear not to be.
Glow worms that have theirfill of food can shut down the bioluminescent reaction and cease glowing.
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