Bioluminescence
What is it? Light as a result of a chemical reaction Common examples: fireflies, anglerfish, mushrooms Luminescent bacteria: basic luminescent organism to work with
The Mechanism Light produced by oxidation of luciferin catalyzed by luciferase in the presence of ATP Luciferin, when oxidized, degrades to coelenteramide and releases energy in the form of a photon Luciferin, luciferase general terms Little to no heat loss
Why use bioluminescence? Aspects that make bioluminescence helpful to work with Luciferase genes can be inserted into organisms The reaction uses ATP, provides a useful gauge of ATP concentration Produces light!
What has been done? Genes have been synthesized, inserted into mice, silkworms, potatoes, monkey cells Luciferase gene modification Gene contains 6 introns, all <60 bases Has been modified to express 2x luciferase http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=365129 Detection of living Salmonella cells http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19169891 GloFish
Bioluminescent assays Targets such as kinases, proteases, apoptosis Detection of ATP allows analysis of cell metabolism and enzymatic processes http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17355205 Whole animal imaging Different types of cells (bone marrow stem cells, T-cells) can express firefly luciferase Allows imaging; can be used to track tumor development http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/63/21/7042 http://www.promega.com/pnotes/100/16620_22/16620_22.pdf
Ideas From Wikipedia
Crazy Solar-powered light sources Plants already create ATP from photosynthesis Could use ATP for luminescence at night Applications include city lighting, nightlights & Christmas lights, art Living houses? Fab tree hab?
Interesting Modify bacteria to monitor chemical levels Bioluminescent bacteria (e.coli) modified to be selective towards certain toxins Luminometer returns toxin levels Useful for environmental toxin monitoring
Interesting Detect presence of certain chemicals (harmful, maybe pollutants?) Insert luciferase gene into an organism that thrives under and indicates certain conditions (ie algae and phosphorus?)
Safe Luminescent bacteria tags Insert luciferase gene into symbiotic bacteria that can live in certain organisms Uses: track pests, non-native species, etc.
Safe Life-spanned messages/patterns/pictures Grow luminescent cells/bacteria on a plate Will only grow/glow as long as they have nutrients Will lose luminescence when nutrients run out