Most marine bioluminescence, for instance, is expressed in the blue-green part of the visible light spectrum. The appearance of bioluminescent light varies greatly, depending on the habitat and organism in which it is found. Glow-in-the-dark stickers are phosphorescent. Phosphorescence is similar to florescence, except the phosphorescent light is able to re-emit light for much longer periods of time. The ink used in highlighter pens is fluorescent. The fluorescing light is only visible in the presence of the stimulating light. In fluorescence, a stimulating light is absorbed and re- emitted. Florescence does not involve a chemical reaction. The photoprotein in crystal jellies is called "green fluorescent protein" or GFP.īioluminescence is not the same thing as fluorescence, however.
Photoproteins were first studied in bioluminescent crystal jellies found off the west coast of North America. Photoproteins were only recently identified, and biologists and chemists are still studying their unusual chemical properties. Photoproteins combine with luciferins and oxygen, but need another agent, often an ion of the element calcium, to produce light. These reactions involve a chemical called a photoprotein.
Some reactions, however, do not involve an enzyme (luciferase). Most bioluminescent reactions involve luciferin and luciferase. Biologists identified a new bioluminescent dinoflagellate ecosystem in the Humacao Natural Reserve, Puerto Rico, in 2010.
The whole lagoon can be illuminated at night. Bioluminescent dinoflagellates gather in these lagoons or bays, and the narrow opening prevents them from escaping. The luciferase found in dinoflagellates is related to the green chemical chlorophyll found in plants.īioluminescent dinoflagellate ecosystems are rare, mostly forming in warm-water lagoons with narrow openings to the open sea. Bioluminescent dinoflagellates produce light using a luciferin-luciferase reaction. More importantly, the chemical reaction creates light. The interaction of the luciferase with oxidized (oxygen-added) luciferin creates a byproduct, called oxyluciferin. An enzyme is a chemical (called a catalyst) that interacts with a substrate to affect the rate of a chemical reaction. The bacteria and squid have a symbiotic relationship. Many marine animals, such as squid, house bioluminescent bacteria in their light organs. Some species of midshipman fish, for instance, obtain luciferin through the "seed shrimp" they consume. Instead, they absorb it through other organisms, either as food or in a symbiotic relationship. Some bioluminescent organisms do not synthesize luciferin. Bioluminescent dinoflagellates are a type of plankton-tiny marine organisms that can sometimes cause the surface of the ocean to sparkle at night. Dinoflagellates, for instance, bioluminesce in a bluish-green color. Some bioluminescent organisms produce ( synthesize) luciferin on their own. The bioluminescent color (yellow in fireflies, greenish in lanternfish) is a result of the arrangement of luciferin molecules. In a chemical reaction, luciferin is called the substrate. Luciferin is the compound that actually produces light. The chemical reaction that results in bioluminescence requires two unique chemicals: luciferin and either luciferase or photoprotein. There are almost no bioluminescent organisms native to freshwater habitats. Some bioluminescent organisms, including fireflies and fungi, are found on land. These bioluminescent marine species include fish, bacteria, and jellies.
Most bioluminescent organisms are found in the ocean. (Bioluminescence is chemiluminescence that takes place inside a living organism.)īioluminescence is a " cold light." Cold light means less than 20% of the light generates thermal radiation, or heat. Bio luminescence is a type of chemiluminescence, which is simply the term for a chemical react ion where light is produced. Bioluminescence is light produced by a chemical reaction within a living organism.
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