Luciferin, discovery

FMNH2 requirement in bacterial luminescence Crystallization of Cypridina luciferin Crystallization of firefly luciferin Cypridina luciferin in fishes the first cross reaction discovered Structure of firefly luciferin Discovery of aequorin and GFP (green fluorescent protein) Structure of Cypridina luciferin Concept of photoprotein Structure of Latia luciferin Dioxetanone mechanism proposed in firefly and Cypridina luminescence... 

The luciferin-luciferase reaction of fireflies was first demonstrated by Harvey (1917), although the light observed was weak and short-lasting. Thirty years after Harvey s discovery, McElroy (1947) made a crucial breakthrough in the study of firefly bioluminescence. He found that the light-emitting reaction requires ATP as a cofactor. The addition of ATP to the mixtures of luciferin and luciferase... 

Soon after the hypothetical structure was published, coelenterazine was isolated as an actual substance from the liver of the luminous squid Watasenia scintillans, and it was chemically synthesized (Inoue et al., 1975). The availability of synthetic coelenterazine led to the important discovery that the treatment of the luminescence product of aequorin with coelenterazine results in the regeneration of active aequorin (Shimomura and Johnson, 1975c), which consequently confirmed the presence of a coelenterazine moiety in the aequorin molecule. During the same period, it became increasingly evident that coelenterazine is involved as a luciferin in various bioluminescent organisms, such as the sea cactus Cavernularia, the sea pen Ptilosarcus, and the sea pansy Renilla (Shimomura and Johnson, 1975b). 

In addition to the reactions of luciferin shown in Fig. 7.2.3, Trainor (1979) made an interesting discovery that arylsulfatase from Pattela vulgata (Sigma) converts luciferin into a violet compound (treatment conditions pH 5.05, 37°C, 4 hr). The compound showed absorption peaks at 344 nm and 560 nm (Fig. 7.2.7), and the peaks shifted reversibly to 347 nm and 547 nm in acid, and to 364 nm and 720 nm in an alkaline solution. The violet compound was also obtained from the pink compound by treatment with arylsulfatase, or from luciferin by heating in 50% trifluoroacetic acid at 100°C for 1 hr, followed by an addition of oxygenated water. These results, together with the... 

Following the discovery of luciferin and luciferase by Dubois, the person who made the greatest contribution to the knowledge of... 

Discovery of luciferin-luciferase reaction Benzoylation of Cypridina luciferin ATP requirement in firefly luminescence Requirement for long-chain aldehyde (luciferin) in bacterial luminescence... 

Discovery of a new luciferin and a new mechanism will provide us with enormous benefit, as it was shown in the past. The work may not be easy however, the author believes that it can be accomplished when the researcher has a firm determination to complete it. There is no established method or protocol for studying a new type of luciferin or photoprotein thus, the method must be worked... 

The future is an extension of the past. The author believes that the process of the progress made in the past is as important as the findings and discoveries for the planning of future research. For this reason, a substantial weight is placed on describing historical accounts. Such information would also help researchers to get some idea of the effort that might be needed to isolate and identify a new luciferin. 

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. 

In the early 1980s a serendipitous discovery was made when to a mixture of HRP, luminol, and hydrogen peroxide in buffer, firefly luciferin was accidentally added. The light yield of the HRP-catalyzed peroxidation of luminol was greatly enhanced. This remarkable discovery marked the beginning of a very successful analytical tool for immunoassay and all kinds of blotting (protein, DNA, and RNA) applications [16-18],... 

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