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Bioluminescence
The word bioluminescence comes from Greek and Latin – bios means life in Greek and lumen means light
in Latin.

Bioluminescence is a specific example of chemiluminescence produced by a living organism. In case of

bioluminescence, a biochemical reaction gives rise to intermediate(s) in excited states which emit the extra
energy in form of light. High efficiencies of converting the chemical energy into light are common for
bioluminescence; in fact, efficiencies higher than 90% are widespread.

There are many organisms in very different biotopes capable of bioluminescence – it can be the glow of
bacteria on a decaying substrate, blue luminescence of protozoa on the beaches of tropical seas or the
glow of fireflies (Lampyris noctiluca).

In general, bioluminescence is observed with many simple organisms – bacteria, fungi (Omphalotus
nidiformis, Omphalotus olearius), insects, sea invertebrates and fish species; up to now, there haven´t
been found examples of naturally occurring higher plants, reptiles, birds and mammals capable of
bioluminescence.

The biologists suppose that there can be several reasons for evolution of bioluminescence:

1) Role in protection and survival

Bioluminescence can be linked to protection and survival of the organism. Some deep sea animals, like
certain species of octopuses exude a glowing secret whose role is to confuse the enemy and assist in
escape or frightening the predators. It is believed that bioluminescence plays a vital role in sexual
communication and partner recognition.

2) Role of bioluminescence in cellular protection

It is believed that bioluminescence in lower organisms like bacteria, protozoa and fungi can be an
evolutionary remnant from times when Earth´s atmosphere was low in oxygen (oxygen was toxic to
primitive organisms of that time). Bioluminescence can represent an oxygen-neutralizing defence
mechanism that remained conserved even after adaption to oxygen-rich atmosphere.

Molecular principles of bioluminescence

Most organisms capable of bioluminescence use enzyme-catalyzed reaction of a suitable substrate with
oxygen in the presence of cofactors. During oxidation, the substrate is converted to products in excited
state which emit extra energy in form of light.

The best known example is luciferin oxidation (typical for fireflies) with oxygen under luciferase catalysis in
the presence of Mg2+ salts and ATP.

The sequence is depicted in Scheme 2.

Scheme 2: Mechanism of luciferin bioluminescence

In the first phase, luciferin reacts with oxygen under ATP consumption, Mg2+ assistance and luciferase
catalysis to yield a reactive, highly unstable intermediate Int1. This intermediate is decomposing in the
second stage into carbon dioxide and intermediate Int2 in excited state (Phase 2). Int2 undergoes
deexcitation by emission of a photon with a characteristic wavelength (Phase 3). In case of luciferin, the
emission maximum is at 550-570 nm.

Deep sea blue glowing organisms use a similar chemical reaction but with a slightly different substrate. It is
estimated that marine organisms tend to emit mostly blue color because of evolutional reasons – blue light
is less absorbed by sea water and therefore penetrates better.

Luciferin-based bioluminescence is nowadays intensively used in biology and biochemistry.

For example low concentrations of ATP can be measured by bioluminescence (because ATP is needed for
luciferin oxidation). Another advanced application is detection of gene expression (luciferase gene
expression) because presence of luciferase can be easily detected. This simple, yet extremely sensitive
technique finds widespread use in gene technology. Bioluminescent imaging is another advanced
technique that is being used for study of biological processes in living organisms. For instance, it is
possible to precisely follow cancer propagation using a special line of bioluminescent cancer cells. These
observations can lead to a much better understanding of the disease. Similar and other uses of
bioluminescence are nowadays intensively studied and represent a dynamically developing field.

Theory
Historical excursion
Fluorescence
Phosphorescence
Chemiluminescence
Bioluminescence
Mechanoluminescence
Pyroluminescence
Cyanotype process

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