Bioluminescence

thumb|Flying and glowing firefly, [[Photinus pyralis]] thumb|upright |Female glowworm, [[Lampyris noctiluca]] Bioluminescence is the production of light by an organism as the result of a chemiluminescence reaction. It occurs in a wide variety of organisms, including marine vertebrates and invertebrates, terrestrial arthropods such as fireflies, some fungi, and microorganisms such as some bacteria and dinoflagellates. In some animals, the light is bacteriogenic, produced by symbiotic bacteria such as those from the genus Vibrio; in others, it is autogenic, produced by the animals themselves. Bi

protein that converts blue and ultraviolet light ranges to green light

In molecular biology, luciferase is a generic term for the class of oxidative enzymes that produce bioluminescence, and is usually distinguished from a photoprotein. The name was first used by Raphaël Dubois who invented the words luciferin and luciferase, for the substrate and enzyme, respectively. Both words are derived from the Latin word lucifer, meaning "lightbearer", which in turn is derived from the Latin words for "light" (lux) and "to bring or carry" (ferre). Luciferases are widely used in biotechnology, for bioluminescence imaging microscopy and as reporter genes, for many of the sam

thumb|right|300px|Space-filling model of [[firefly luciferin(color coding: black=carbon, white=hydrogen, blue=nitrogen, red=oxygen, yellow=sulfur)]]

thumb|300px|right|The elongate jewel squid (Histioteuthis reversa), so called because the photophores festooning its body make it appear bejewelled. thumb|300px|right|Diagram of a cephalopod's photophore, in vertical section.

luminous phenomenon in the ocean in which large areas of seawater glow brightly enough at night to be seen by satellites orbiting Earth

{| style="float:right;" |- | | |thumb|Panellus stipticus, Mt. Vernon, Wisconsin (long exposure) |- | | |thumb|right|Omphalotus olearius

chemical compound

Biophotons (from the Greek βίος meaning "life" and φῶς meaning "light") are photons of light in the ultraviolet and visible light range that are produced by a biological system. They are non-thermal in origin, and the emission of biophotons is technically a type of bioluminescence, though the term "bioluminescence" is generally reserved for higher luminance systems (typically with emitted light visible to the naked eye, using biochemical means such as luciferin/luciferase). The term biophoton used in this narrow sense should not be confused with the broader field of biophotonics, which studies

Aequorin is a calcium-activated photoprotein isolated from the hydrozoan Aequorea victoria. Its bioluminescence was studied decades before the protein was isolated from the animal by Osamu Shimomura in 1962. In the animal, the protein occurs together with the green fluorescent protein to produce green light by resonant energy transfer, while aequorin by itself generates blue light.

Coelenterazine is a luciferin, a molecule that emits light after reaction with oxygen, found in many aquatic organisms across eight phyla. It is the substrate of many luciferases such as Renilla reniformis luciferase (Rluc), Gaussia luciferase (Gluc), and photoproteins, including aequorin, and obelin. All these proteins catalyze the oxidation of this substance, a reaction catalogued EC 1.13.12.5.

Vargulin, also called Cypridinid luciferin, Cypridina luciferin, or Vargula luciferin, is the luciferin found in the ostracod Cypridina hilgendorfii, also named Vargula hilgendorfii. These bottom dwelling ostracods emit a light stream into water when disturbed presumably to deter predation. Vargulin is also used by the midshipman fish, Porichthys.

Coelenteramide is the oxidized product, or oxyluciferin, of the bioluminescent reactions in many marine organisms that use coelenterazine. It was first isolated as a blue fluorescent protein from Aequorea victoria after the animals were stimulated to emit light. Under basic conditions, the compound will break down further into coelenteramine and 4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid.

pharmacologist (1849–1929)

Bacteria that produce light through chemiluminescence

Coelenteramine is a metabolic product of the bioluminescent reactions in organisms that utilize coelenterazine. It was first isolated from Aequorea victoria along with coelenteramide after coelenterates were stimulated to emit light.

In molecular biology, photoproteins are a type of enzyme produced by bioluminescent organisms. They add to the function of the luciferins whose usual light-producing reaction is catalyzed by the enzyme luciferase.