This document provides information about bioluminescence. It begins with an acknowledgement and introduction defining bioluminescence. The document then discusses the history of bioluminescence research, how it evolved in different organisms, and how the bioluminescence reaction works on a chemical level. It lists several bioluminescent organisms and describes some uses of bioluminescence in nature for camouflage, attraction, defense, warning, and communication. The document also outlines several modern applications of bioluminescence in fields like biology, medicine, the environment, and industry. It distinguishes between bioluminescence and biofluorescence and briefly describes two recent research papers on biol

1. BIOLUMINSCENCE
KOUSTAV GIRI
M.SC. BIOTECHNOLOGY(3RD SEM)
REG NO.152101810009
GUIDED BY: DR. PARAMITA BHATTACHARYA
INSTITUTE OF GENETIC ENGINEERING

2. CONTENT
Topic Topic name Page no.
Acknowledgement 1
What is bioluminescence? 2
History 3
Evolution 4
How does it work? 5-6
List of Bioluminescent
Organisms
7-8
Uses in nature 9-11
Commercial benefit 12
Modern day application 13-15
Difference 16
Recent paper works on
bioluminescence
17-18
References 19

3. Acknowledgement
I sincerely thank our honourable principle sir Dr. Amit
Chakravarty, and vice-principle mam Dr. Sudipa
Chakravarty for their endeavours that helped me. I
also want to acknowledge Dr. Paramita
Bhattacharya and Jayasmita mam for their valuable
guidance and some of my friends who assisted me.
1

4. WHAT IS BIOLUMISCENCE?
Bioluminescence is
production of light without
heat through chemical
reaction by living organism.
The light emitted by a
bioluminescent organism is
produced by energy released
from chemical reactions
occurring inside the
organism.
2

5. HISTORY
• In 1854 Johann Florian Heller
(1813-1871) identified strands
(hyphae) of fungi as the source
of light in dead wood at first
time.
• In 1920, the American zoologist
E. Newton Harvey published a
monograph, The Nature of
Animal Light, summarizing
early work on bioluminescence.
• Darwin also observed a
luminous "jelly-fish of the
genus Dianaea
3
3

6. EVOLUTION
Bioluminescence in fish began
at least by the Cretaceous
period. About 1,500 fish
species are known to be
bioluminescent, and this
feature evolved independently
at a minimum of 27 time
Of these 27 occasions, 17
involved the taking up of bio
luminous bacteria from the
surrounding water while in
the others, the intrinsic light
evolved through chemical
synthesis.
4

7. How Does Bioluminescence
Work?
 Bioluminescence is a product
of chemical reaction in an
organism.
 It involves a class of chemical
called luciferins (light
bringers).
 The luciferins oxidizes in the
presence of a catalytic
enzyme(luciferase) to create
light and an inactive
compound(oxyluciferins).
 As a result, energy is released
in a from light due to energy
from excitation of the
electron in the ions. The
photon visible light produced
is about 50kcal.
5

8. HOW DOES IT WORK?
in bioluminescence, a luciferin
produce lights & a luciferase the
light producing chemical
reaction to take place
In this reaction luciferin act
as a catalyst.
Luciferase allows
oxygen to combine
with luciferin
The reaction produces
photons of light
And oxidized luciferin becomes
inactive oxyluciferin
6

9. List of Bioluminescent Organisms
Terrestrial animal:
Certain anthropoid
Fire flies
Click beetle
Glow worms
Marine animals:
Anglerfish
Flashlight fish
Black dragon fish
Sparkling enope squid
7

10. List of Bioluminescent Organisms
Fungi:
Armillaria calvescens
Armillaria gallica
Bacteria:
Photobacterium
phosphoreum
Photorhabdus luminescens
Protists:
Pyrodinium bahamense
Lingulodinium polyedrum
8

11. Uses in Nature
Bioluminescence has several
functions in different criteria. Like
that-
o Camouflage:
• bacterial bioluminescence is used
for camouflage by counter
illumination.
• In these animals, photoreceptors
control the illumination to match
the brightness of the background.
These light organs are usually
separate from the tissue
containing the bioluminescent
bacteria.
• in firefly squid, Watasenia
scintillans are responsible for this.
9

12. Uses in Nature
• Attraction:
Fireflies use light to attract mates. Two
systems are involved according to
species; in one, females emit light from
their abdomens to attract males; in the
other, flying males emit signals to
which the sometimes sedentary females
respond.
• Defence:
Dinoflagellates may use
bioluminescence for defence against
predators. They shine when they detect
a predator, possibly making the
predator itself more vulnerable by
attracting the attention of predators
from higher trophic levels.
10

13. Uses in Nature
• Warning:
Bioluminescence is widely used for
warning that the creature concerned
is unpalatable. Millipedes glow for
the same purpose. Some marine
organisms are believed to emit light
for a similar reason. These include
scale worms, jellyfish and brittle
stars.
• Communication:
Communication in the form of
quorum sensing plays a role in the
regulation of luminescence in many
species of bacteria.
Quantula striata the only known
bioluminescent terrestrial mollusc.
Pulses of light are emitted from a
gland near the front of the foot and
may have a communicative function
11

14. How Can We Make Use of Bioluminescent
Chemical for Our Own Benefit?
12

15. Bioluminescence Modern Day
Application
Biology and medicine:
1. Luciferase systems are
widely used in genetic
engineering as reporter
genes.
2. Bioluminescent activdate
destruction is an
experimental cancer
treatment
3. Vibrio bacteria
symbiosis with marine
invertebrates such as
the Hawaiian bobtail
squid are key
experimental models for
bioluminescence.
4. Its used for bio
monitoring.
13

16. Bioluminescence Modern Day Application
In Environment:
1. Detection of drugs in surface
water and waste water samples
preliminary testing of toxicity.
2. Assessment of heavy metal by
bacterial bioluminescence in
waste water.
3. Dinoflagelet bioluminescence
for environment risk detection.
4. Detection of specific pollutants
in environment.
 In Industrial field:
1. structures of photophores, the
light producing organs in
bioluminescent organisms, are
being investigated by industrial
designers.
14

17. Bioluminescence Modern Day Application
Others field:
1. Engineered bioluminescence could perhaps one day be
used to reduce the need for street lighting.
2. It also used in energy consumption.
15

18. What is the Difference Between Bio-
fluorescence and Bioluminescence?
Bioluminescence Biofluroscence
Bioluminescence is a chemical process in
which an enzyme breaks a substrate
down and one of the products of this
reaction is light.
Bioluorescence is a physical process by
which light excites electrons in the
fluorophor to a higher energy state, and
when that electron falls back down to its
ground state it emits a photon.
The most popular usage of luciferase (an
enzyme that causes bioluminescence in
fireflies and sea pansies) is to test that
activity of gene regulatory elements
The likelihood of measuring
autofluorescence or excitation photons is
extremely low
16

19. Recent paper works on Bioluminescence
Published: July
2003
17

20. Recent paper works on Bioluminescence
Published:
December 2014
18

21. References
• Douglas, R.H.; Mullineaux, C.W.; Partridge, J.C. (29 September
2000). "Long-wave sensitivity in deep-sea stomiid dragonfish
with far-red bioluminescence: evidence for a dietary origin of the
chlorophyll-derived retinal photosensitizer of Malacosteus niger“
• Stanger-Hall, K.F.; Lloyd, J.E.; Hillis, D.M. (2007). "Phylogeny of
North American fireflies (Coleoptera: Lampyridae): implications
for the evolution of light signals". Molecular Phylogenetics and
Evolution. 45 (1): 33–49. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2007.05.013
PMID 17644427
• Di Rocco, Giuliana; Gentile, Antonietta; Antonini, Annalisa;
Truffa, Silvia; Piaggio, Giulia; Capogrossi, Maurizio C.; Toietta,
Gabriele (1 September 2012). "Analysis of biodistribution and
engraftment into the liver of genetically modified mesenchymal
stromal cells derived from adipose tissue". Cell Transplantation.
21 (9): 1997–2008. doi:10.3727/096368911X637452 PMID
22469297
• Sparks, John S.; Schelly, Robert C.; Smith, W. Leo; Davis, Matthew
P.; Tchernov, Dan; Pieribone, Vincent A.; Gruber, David F.
(January 8, 2014). "The Covert World of Fish Biofluorescence: A
Phylogenetically Widespread and Phenotypically Variable
19