Stars falling on the beach - bioluminescence

本文同时提供以下语言的翻译:中文

Introduction

From the well-known fireflies, to the anglerfish in the deep sea, to the quiet noctilucent algae on the beach like stars falling into the sea, bioluminescence is actually all around you and me.
There is no doubt that bioluminescence is an amazing and beautiful phenomenon in nature.It opened the door to a new understanding of biological functions that researchers still observe with awe and curiosity.

---

The study of bioluminescence can be traced back to 1667, when Boyle discovered the need for oxygen in bioluminescence:
That’s when Boyle discovered that bioluminescent fish and wood that emits light from bacterial and fungal infections need oxygen.Using a vacuum pump, he observed:
‘A shiny piece of wood…Give off a bright light.This obviously reduces the…By the seventh time, more and more air was being drawn out, and the light was getting darker and darker…
So we let in the outside air, and were delighted to see the light that seemed to be exhausted come back so quickly and so perfectly that it seemed to us like a tiny bolt of lightning that struck into the nineteenth century.’

In addition, by the 19th century, beauel-based studies of other bioluminescent systems showed the presence of two components: luciferase and luciferase–both essential for all bioluminescent reactions.
In simple terms, bioluminescence is a chemical reaction in which luciferin and oxygen are catalyzed by luciferase to produce oxyluciferin, which simultaneously emits light.

---

Why are organisms bioluminescence?

No matter how well we can explain how bioluminescence works, the answer to the existence of bioluminescence still requires a lot of thought.
Bioluminescence does not seem to provide any general evolutionary advantage.Bioluminescent species like fireflies are no more successful as insects than those that use different mechanisms (independent of bioluminescence) to elicit the same biological response (for example, through hormonal or color signals to attract mates to mate).
It has been proposed that luminescence is accidental, possibly due to substrate oxidation as part of a primary or secondary metabolic pathway.As a result of this oxidation, a system consisting of organic peroxides and highly fluorescent molecules (possibly REDOX cofactors, such as FMN in bacterial systems) is created, capable of further reactions to produce light.
The situation is similar to some chemiluminescent compounds discovered by accident, only because they dissolve in a base and then react with oxygen.
Whether or not the origin of bioluminescence falls into this category of happenstance, it is clear that many species have adapted to the phenomenon in a variety of ways.

---

A few fun facts

The vast diversity of bioluminescent species is actually remarkable.Although the number of bioluminescent organisms is small compared to the total number of known species.But the proportion of phyla or classes containing at least one luminous species is surprisingly large:
Thirteen of the 25 gates contained bioluminescent species, and 25 of these gates contained classes of bioluminescent organisms.For example, bacteria in the phylum, fungal protozoa.
It would appear that luminescence did not develop along any evolutionary line, but occurred sporadically throughout the door.For example, a species within a genus may glow, but a closely related species may not.
In other cases, young fish of the species have the ability to glow, but lose it as adults.The trend towards increasing complexity is only seen in animals with complex light-emitting organs (photophores), such as shrimp, fish and squid.

---

Cross Reaction
Interestingly, cross-reactions occur in the luminescence reactions of different species: luciferin from one species can react with luciferase from another species to produce light.
This phenomenon occurs mainly in closely related species.One exception, however, was the Cypridina (* Cypridina*, a crustacean) and the Cyprian (Parapriacanthus).
If non-luminescent paramonofinned fish were fed cypriodium sativum containing luciferin, they would become fully fluorescent.

Cypridina

Parapriacanthus
Moreover, The coelenterate luciferins were similarly related to the luminous squid Watasenia and the decapod shrimp Oplophorus.

---

Citation

Neary, A. P., and C. S. J. Walpole. “Bioluminescence-Chemical Light.” Science Progress (1933- ), vol. 70, no. 2 (278), Temporary Publisher, 1986, pp. 145–69.