Bioluminescence is the production and emission of light by a living organism.

It is a form
of chemiluminescence. Bioluminescence occurs widely in marine vertebrates and invertebrates, as
well as in some fungi, microorganisms including some bioluminescent bacteria and terrestrial
invertebrates such as fireflies. In some animals, the light is bacteriogenic, produced
by symbiotic organisms such as Vibrio bacteria; in others, it is autogenic, produced by the animals
themselves.
In a general sense, the principal chemical reaction in bioluminescence involves some light-emitting
molecule and an enzyme, generally called the luciferin and the luciferase, respectively. Because
these are generic names, the luciferins and luciferases are often distinguished by including the
species or group, i.e. Firefly luciferin. In all characterized cases, the
enzyme catalyzes the oxidation of the luciferin.
In some species, the luciferase requires other cofactors, such as calcium or magnesium ions, and
sometimes also the energy-carrying molecule adenosine triphosphate (ATP). In evolution, luciferins
vary little: one in particular, coelenterazine, is found in eleven different animal (phyla), though in
some of these, the animals obtain it through their diet. Conversely, luciferases vary widely between
different species, and consequently bioluminescence has arisen over forty times in evolutionary
history.
Both Aristotle and Pliny the Elder mentioned that damp wood sometimes gives off a glow and many
centuries later Robert Boyle showed that oxygen was involved in the process, both in wood and in
glow-worms. It was not until the late nineteenth century that bioluminescence was properly
investigated. The phenomenon is widely distributed among animal groups, especially in marine
environments where dinoflagellates cause phosphorescence in the surface layers of water. On land
it occurs in fungi, bacteria and some groups of invertebrates, including insects.
The uses of bioluminescence by animals include counter-illumination camouflage, mimicry of other
animals, for example to lure prey, and signalling to other individuals of the same species, such as to
attract mates. In the laboratory, luciferase-based systems are used in genetic engineering and for
biomedical research. Other researchers are investigating the possibility of using bioluminescent
systems for street and decorative lighting, and a bioluminescent plant has been created.[1]