Bioluminescence is the production of light by living organisms through chemical reactions. Many marine invertebrates like jellyfish and squid use bioluminescence through organs called photophores to communicate, attract prey, or camouflage. The chemical reaction requires oxygen, luciferin, and the enzyme luciferase to produce light. Modern applications have spliced bioluminescent genes into non-bioluminescent organisms to track gene expression and disease progression.

1. BIOLUMINESCENCE

2. OBJECTIVES:
• DEFINE BIOLUMINESCENCE
• TYPES OF BIOLUMINESCENCE
• ADVANTAGES
• CHEMICAL PROCESS
• APPLICATION

3. What is Bioluminescence?
• Bioluminescence is the production and emission of light from a living organism.
• The term bioluminescence originated from the Greek bios meaning “living” and the Latin lumen
meaning “light”.
• The emission of light is produced by chemical reactions within the organism. These reactions can
occur internal and external to the cell.
• Bioluminescence is not the same as fluorescence as it is the direct production of light where
fluorescence is light absorbed, then re-emitted.

4. Types of Organisms that utilize Bioluminescence
• Insects - ex. fireflies, glow worms, certain centipedes and
millipedes
• Marine invertebrates – ex. many corals and jellyfish,
certain squid and mollusks
• Fungi – ex. Jack O’Lantern mushroom, ghost fungus, over
70 other species
• Other microorganisms – ex. dinoflagellates, and many
other bacteria.

5. Advantages of Bioluminescence
• to startle or distract another
• organism to escape from harm
• to lure prey
• to camouflage/counter shade
• to illuminate for visual purposes
• to warn and intimidate other organism
• to communicate and for mating rituals

6. Chemiluminescence: The Chemical Process
• Bioluminescence produces cool light, meaning nearly all energy produced in the reaction
is converted to light without heat.
• In light bulbs only 3% light is produced, while the remaining 97% of the energy produced
is wasted as heat.
• The three main requirements for the chemical reaction to occur are: oxygen, luciferin (a
molecular substrate) and luciferase (an enzyme) resulting in light and oxyluciferin
• O2 + luciferin + luciferase = oxyluciferin + LIGHT

7. • Sometimes luciferin and additional catalyzing proteins, along with a co-factor
such as oxygen, form a complex called a photoprotein.
• This molecule is then triggered by a secondary signal molecule, usually calcium ions to
activate the complex.

8. Photophores: The Light House
• Many organisms, mostly marine vertebrates and invertebrates, produce bioluminescence
in organs called photophores. •
• These organisms collect light producing bacteria by allowing a small opening to the
organ that is exterior to the organism in which the bacteria can enter. •
• Photophores can be very complex, similar to an eye, in that they can contain a lens,
reflectors, and filters. •
• These features allow the organism to focus the light, control the intensity, and change
the color of the light being emitted

9. Lux Operon: Expression in Bacteria
• The lux operon consists of the gene that codes for luciferase.
• The lux system is an inducible operon.
• It is active when the concentration of homoserine lactose is high; when a high concentration
of bacteria is present.
• The lux operon has the sequence luxCDAB(F)E.
• luxA and luxB code for the subunits of the enzyme luciferase.
• LuxCDE code for enzymes that convert fatty acids into aldehydes which are needed for the
reaction to proceed.
• LuxI is responsible for the production of the autoinducer protein, homoserine lactose.
• When the concentration of homoserine lactose is high, it reacts with the protein produced
from the second operon, the regulator, luxR.
• This results in increasing the association of RNA polymerase to the promoter region of the first
operon and eventually producing luminescence.

10. Modern Applications of Bioluminescence
• Through gene splicing,
• non-bioluminescent organisms have
• been able to express the proteins
• necessary for bioluminescence.
• Some organisms include: bacteria, silk, • potatoes, orchids, and mice.
• The biomedical industry uses
• bioluminescence as a “highlighter”
• for monitoring the expression of other genes being studied. It has also been used to
study infections, the progression of cancer and reconstitution kinetics using bioluminescent
stem cells.
• Future uses include bioluminescent plants along streets for illumination, advancements in
gene therapy and simply for entertainment