IN WHAT WAY IS

BIOLUMINESCENCE
IMPORTANT?
BY SARA CAUTY

SUB QUESTIONS
How is bioluminescence a useful trait?
Which chemical processes cause bioluminescence?
Which adaptations caused bioluminescence to
evolve?

TERMS ASSOCIATED WITH BIOLUMINESCENCE

Luminescence: Light that is produced from a reaction that does not involve
heat.
Bioluminescence: Luminescence created biologically from an organism.
Chemiluminescence: The production of light from a chemical reaction. Two
chemicals react to form an excited (high-energy) intermediate, which breaks
down releasing some of its energy as photons of light.

HOW IS BIOLUMINESCENCE A USEFUL TRAIT?

Bioluminescence is most commonly found in marine animals.
Over 90% of bioluminescence is created by organisms that live in the
ocean.
The other 10% is created by terrestrial organisms.
Some species that can be bioluminescent are bacteria, annelid or
segmented worms, beetles, algae, mollusks, coelenterates, bony fish and
cartilaginous fish.
Some organisms create the light themselves, some acquire the ability
from their food, while others such as angler fish, create a symbiotic
relationship with luminescent bacteria in order to produce light.

THE THREE MAIN BIOLUMINESCENT SYSTEMS

Fireflies/Beetles
Dinoflagellates
Bacteria

FIREFLIES/BEETLES
Fireflies will emit a colour that glows in the yellow-green range.
The main use for firefly/beetle luminescence is for the mating process, or
communication, as there are over 1900 firefly species.
Click beetles emit green to orange light; whereas railway worms emit red
light, with green light being emitted on movement.

Firefly

Click

DINOFLAGELLATES
They are unicellular algae, they account for many bioluminescent sighting
in the sea.
Dinoflagellates are very sensitive to motion induced by ships or fish, and
respond with rapid and brilliant flashes.
While Dinoflagellates are known to cause red tides when they bloom,
they do not glow red.
They glow a more green-blue hue that is bright and easy to see.

BACTERIA
Bacteria are capable of producing bioluminescence on their own
Also form symbiotic relationship with marine organisms to provide bioluminescence
for them by living inside their light organs.
Luminous bacteria come in various shapes, but they do not form clusters or chains,
unlike other bacteria.
The light of an individual bacterium, cannot be seen with the naked eye, but the
light from a culture containing billions of bacteria is readily visible.
The light is bluish and continuous.
Bioluminescent bacteria and fungus can exist in the ocean as well as on land, often
referred to as foxfire.
Foxfire is usually found in fungus that feed on decaying wood and plants, and will
emit a continuous glow rather than flashes.
Most bioluminescence is produced by/inside light organs that flash for periods of
less than a second to about 10 seconds.

FIVE MAIN FUNCTIONS

Camouflage
Repulsion
Illumination
Attraction
Communication

CAMOUFLAGE
The most common form of camouflaging bioluminescence is called
counterillumination.
As many predators hunt from below, they can see prey easily where
sunlight creates shadows.
Many fish such as the hatchet fish use counterillumination.
Hatchet fish have light-producing organs that point downward, they adjust
the amount of light coming from their undersides to match the light
coming from above.

REPULSION

Repulsion can be used to indicate toxic or foul-tasting chemicals that serve

as a deterrent to predators.
These organisms will light up to warn predators that they are toxic, similar
to brightly coloured frogs and insects.
Toads, birds, and other predators know that consuming these larvae will
result in illness and possible death.

ILLUMINATION

Illumination, without the intent of attraction, is mostly used in the ocean

that are below the twilight zone.
Illumination can be used to see obstacles, lure prey, or send signals.
Some deep sea fish use this to their advantage by emitting red colour
lights that most marine organisms cannot see.

ATTRACTION
Bioluminescence can be used for attraction or prey, or potential mates.
It is known to be crucial to the mating rituals of luminescent beetles and
fireflies.
It can be used in the deep sea to attract any fish that are sensitive to light
The light they produce can be used for organisms to identify members of
their own species.

COMMUNICATION
It can be used to transmit information of food location, possible danger,
potential mates, or members of the same species.
In the case of fireflies, the light is used as a signal that is visible throughout
the night over long distances to possible mates.
While some fireflies will rely purely on pheromones to attract a mate,
others have developed unique patterns and rates of flashing.

WHICH CHEMICAL PROCESSES CAUSE BIOLUMINESCENCE?

Bioluminescence is known as a cold light as it does not produce
any heat as a by product o the reaction.
Because of this, bioluminescence is, be definition, nearly 100%
efficient.
The foundation of a bioluminescent reaction involves two things:
Luciferin: The compound that produces the light
Luciferase: The enzyme that catalyzes the reaction
There are additional proteins that separate luciferins into five
separate classes, giving different properties to the light.
These proteins are Aldehydes, Benzothiazoles, Imidazolopyrazines,
Coelenterazine, Tetrapyrroles and Flavins.

FIVE BIOLUMINESCENT CHEMICAL REACTION

TYPES
Bacterial
Dinoflagellate
Vargula
Coelenterazine
Fireflies/Other

BACTERIAL
Most commonly found in Bacteria, Pyrosomes, and some fish and squid.
It is made of luciferin and luciferase.
Bacterial luciferin is a reduced riboflavin phosphate which is oxidized in
association with a long-chain aldehyde, oxygen, and a luciferase.

DINOFLAGELLATE
It is commonly found in dinoflagellates, and Euphausiid shrimp.
Dinoflagellate luciferin is also made of luciferin and luciferase
It is thought to be derived from chlorophyll, and has a very similar
structure.
A modified form of this luciferin is also found in herbivorous Euphausiid
shrimp, perhaps indicating a dietary link for the acquisition of luciferin.

Dinoflagellate
luciferin

Chlorophyll

VARGULA

It is composed of luciferin and luciferase.

Vargula (Vargulin) luciferin is found in ostracods and in some fish.

There is a clear dietary link, with fish losing their ability to luminesce until
they are fed with luciferin-bearing food.
It has been shown that ostracods synthesize this molecule from the amino
acids tryptophan, isoleucine, and arginine.
This is one of the systems that shows how not every organism created the
luminescence entirely by themselves, some, if not most, consumed
bioluminescent organisms that would give them the necessary proteins to
complete the reaction.

COELENTERAZINE
Coelenterazine luciferin is different, in that it is composed of luciferin, luciferase,
and a photoprotein.
A photoprotein is a primary reactant of some light-emitting reactions in
organisms.
A photoprotein emits light in proportion to its amount, like a luciferin, but its lightemitting reaction does not require a luciferase.
This molecule can occur in luciferin-luciferase systems, and is famous for being
the light emitter of the photoprotein "aequorin".
As one of the most common bioluminescent marine systems, it can be found in
Radiolarians, Ctenophores, Cnidarians, Squids, Cocepods, Decapod Shrimp, Mysid
Shrimp Chaetognaths and some fish.

FIREFLIES/ OTHER
Firefly luciferin is made of luciferin and luciferase, and is found in fireflies.
Firefly luciferin is used in a luciferin-luciferase system that requires ATP as
a cofactor.
Because of this, it can be used as a bio-indicator of the presence of energy
or "life".

WAVELENGTHS AND COLOUR

Bioluminescence can emit light from anywhere on the colour spectrum
Visible light is seen in wavelengths of 400-700 nm
Bioluminescence is composed of broad bands that are half the height (60100 nm)
Marine organisms emit light from 450-510 nm, however, they are the most
sensitive to light around 470 nm
Terrestrial organisms emit around 560-600 nm, as they are more sensitive
to the yellow end of the colour spectrum.

WHICH ADAPTATIONS CAUSED

BIOLUMINESCENCE TO EVOLVE?
Very little is known about how bioluminescence evolved, or where from
It is believed that the trait was adapted by small organisms, then acquired
by the larger animals through digestion.
It is believed it was first developed by anaerobic bacteria, that metabolized
oxygen in the reaction to adapt to new climates they would otherwise die in.
This metabolic reaction is thought to the be beginning of the bioluminescent
reactions that creates the amazing light we can find all over nature today.