Bacteria bioluminescence

Bioluminescence, the phenomenon of biological light emission, has fascinated mankind for many centuries. Scientists have been intrigued by it, and for many years have tried to answer simple questions like how and why certain animals and bacteria bioluminesce. This research has led to new insights in (molecular) biology and biochemistry. For example, in the 1960s, McCapra studied the chemical mechanisms of bioluminescence and devised a model for firefly luciferin the acridan esters (Fig. 1) [1-5],... 

Luminescent bacteria -bioluminescence inhibition Vibrio fischeri ... 

Fluorescence from luminescent bacteria Bioluminescence from immobilized luciferase evanescent wave changes due to antibody-antigen binding... 

Measurement of total toxicity — The study of inhibition showed us that a single enzyme may be the target of a number of different toxic compounds with a large variety of characteristics. This observation leads to the idea of constructing a sensor capable of measuring total toxicity [13S]. Such a biosensor could replace the biological tests currently used (for fish and daphnia mortality, and bacteria bioluminescence, Microtox). A range of toxic products must be chosen that is representative of all the different structures, such as methylazinphos, paraquat, 2,4,6-trichlorophenol, carbon tetrachloride, and lindane. 

Overview. In the cultures of luminous bacteria, the bacterial cells are not luminous in their early stages of propagation. The formation of bioluminescence system is controlled by a substance called autoinducer that is produced by the cells of luminous bacteria. 

The autoinducer is a low molecular weight compound that is easily leached from the cells into the culture medium. By the propagation of bacterial cells, the concentration of the autoinducer in the medium increases. When the concentration reaches a certain threshold, the biosynthesis of bioluminescence system begins, and the bacteria become luminescent. The process is also called quorum sensing (Fuqua et al., 1994). 

Heat stability The Oplophorus luminescence system is more thermostable than several other known bioluminescence systems the most stable system presently known is that of Periphylla (Section 4.5). The luminescence of the Oplophorus system is optimum at about 40°C in reference to light intensity (Fig. 3.3.3 Shimomura et al., 1978). The quantum yield of coelenterazine is nearly constant from 0°C to 20°C, decreasing slightly while the temperature is increased up to 50°C (Fig. 3.3.3) at temperatures above 50°C, the inactivation of luciferase becomes too rapid to obtain reliable data of quantum yield. In contrast, in the bioluminescence systems of Cypridina, Latia, Chaetopterus, luminous bacteria and aequorin, the relative quantum yields decrease steeply when the temperature is raised, and become almost zero at a temperature near 40-50°C (Shimomura et al., 1978). 

There are many kinds of bioluminescent squids. Some of them harbor luminous bacteria for their light emission (Harvey, 1952 Haneda, 1985), but all other luminous squids currently known utilize coelenterazine or its derivatives in their bioluminescence systems, and... 

Daubner, S. C., and Baldwin, T. O. (1989). Interaction between luciferase from various species of bioluminescent bacteria and the Yellow Fluorescent Protein of Vibrio fischeri strain Y-l. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 161 1191-1198. 

Hastings, J. W. (1986). Bioluminescence in bacteria and dinoflagellates. In Govindjee, etal. (eds.), Light Emission by Plants and Bacteria, pp. 363-398. Academic Press, Orlando. 

Johnston, T. C., et al. (1990). The nucleotide sequence of the luxA and luxB genes of Xenorhabdus luminescence HM and a comparison of the amino acid sequences of luciferases from four species of bioluminescent bacteria. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 170 407- 115. 

Miyamoto, C., Boylan, M., Graham, A., and Meighen, E. (1986). Cloning and expression of the genes from the bioluminescent system of marine bacteria. Method. Enzymol. 133 70-83. 

Petushkov, V. N., Gibson, B. G., Visser, A. J. W. G., and Lee, J. (2000). Purification and ligand exchange protocols for antenna proteins from bioluminescent bacteria. Method. Enzymol. 305 164-180. 

Shimomura, O., Johnson, F. H., and Kohama, Y. (1972). Reactions involved in bioluminescence systems of limpet (Latia neritoides) and luminous bacteria. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 69 2086-2089. 

The chapters in this book are arranged roughly in the chronological order of bioluminescence systems discovered, based on the date of the major breakthrough made in each bioluminescence system, such as the discovery of ATP in the firefly system (McElroy, 1947) and the identification of fatty aldehyde as the luciferin in luminous bacteria (Cormier and Strehler, 1953). This differs from Harvey s 1952 book, which is arranged in the order of taxonomic classification. 

Bioluminescence can be used for spedfic detection of separated bioactive compounds on layers (BioTLC) [46]. After development and drying the mobile phase by evaporation, the layer is coated with microorganisms by immersion of the plate. Single bioactive substances in multicomponent samples are located as zones of differing luminescence. The choice of the luminescent cells determines the specificity of detection. A specific example is the use of the marine bacterium Vibrio fischeri with the BioTLC format. The bioluminescence of the bacteria cells on the layer is reduced by toxic substances, which are detected as dark zones on a fluorescent background. BioTLC kits are available from ChromaDex, Inc. (Santa Ana, CA). 

Although numerous luminous organisms are known, only a few of them has been studied and really exploited. Analytical applications of bioluminescence concern mainly the detection of ATP with the firefly luciferase and of NADH with some marine bacteria systems. Luciferase from the North American firefly, i.e., Photinus pyralis, has been extensively studied10-12 and afterwards, attention has been paid to the luciferase from Luciola mingrelica, i.e., the North Caucasus firefly13 15. 

The bacterial bioluminescent reaction is also catalyzed by a luciferase (EC 1.14.14.3) isolated from marine bacteria. The four most studied types are Vibrio harveyi, Vibrio fischeri, Photobacterium phosphoreum and Photobacterium leiognathi18, 19. In these different luminescent bacteria the... 

As mentioned in the introductory section, other bioluminescent systems will not be discussed in detail in this review. However, the dioxetane approach has been validated in the bioluminescence mechanism of Cypridina hilgendorfii, Latia, and bacteria 90,178,179,180). As in Cypridina luciferin 119, a Schiff s base grouping is apparently involved in the bioluminescent oxidation the same may be true of Latia nerit-oides 120. 

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