1001 lights: luciferins, luciferases, their mechanisms of action and applications in chemical analysis, biology and medicine

Abstract

Bioluminescence (BL) is a spectacular phenomenon involving light emission by live organisms. It is caused by the oxidation of a small organic molecule, luciferin, with molecular oxygen, which is catalysed by the enzyme luciferase. In nature, there are approximately 30 different BL systems, of which only 9 have been studied to various degrees in terms of their reaction mechanisms. A vast range of in vitro and in vivo analytical techniques have been developed based on BL, including tests for different analytes, immunoassays, gene expression assays, drug screening, bioimaging of live organisms, cancer studies, the investigation of infectious diseases and environmental monitoring. This review aims to cover the major existing applications for bioluminescence in the context of the diversity of luciferases and their substrates, luciferins. Particularly, the properties and applications of d-luciferin, coelenterazine, bacterial, Cypridina and dinoflagellate luciferins and their analogues along with their corresponding luciferases are described. Finally, four other rarely studied bioluminescent systems (those of limpet Latia, earthworms Diplocardia and Fridericia and higher fungi), which are promising for future use, are also discussed.

Theoretical Development of Near‐Infrared Bioluminescent Systems

“…Recently, Kaskova et al . reviewed extensive applications of native and mutant luciferases from various firefly species.…”

Shining Light on the Secreted Luciferases of Marine Copepods: Current Knowledge and Applications

“…The identified bioluminescent enzymes from taxonomically unrelated organisms share no similarities in their amino acid sequences even when they use the same substrate for the bioluminescent reaction, as in the case of known coelenterazine‐dependent luciferases . Despite the wide variety of luminous organisms, the primary structures of just over ten types of luciferases with completely different sequences and properties were so far identified, supporting the idea of independent origin of these bioluminescent systems .…”

Advances in bioluminescence imaging: new probes from old recipes

“…[4,6] Even fewer have been coopted for use in heterologous systems. [1] Continued efforts to mine new luciferase and luciferin architectures from natural sources are expanding the number of available tools.…”

“…[3] Other luciferases, including Renilla luciferase (Rluc) and Gaussia luciferase (Gluc) have also found broad utility in biological research. [4] These enzymes oxidize coelenterazine and emit blue light in the process. Rluc and Gluc require no additional cofactors (other than oxygen), making them well suited for extracellular work.…”