A Photocytes-Associated Fatty Acid-Binding Protein from the Light Organ of Adult Taiwanese Firefly, Luciola cerata

Goh, King Siang; Li, Chia Wei

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0029576

Cited by 14 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…PPYR_04589, a predicted fatty acid binding protein is almost certainly orthologous to the light organ fatty acid binding protein reported from Luciola cerata (227). This fatty acid binding protein was previously reported to bind strongly to fatty acids, and weakly to luciferin.…”

Section: Non-enzyme Highly and Differentially Expressed Genes Of The mentioning

confidence: 78%

Firefly genomes illuminate parallel origins of bioluminescence in beetles

Fallon

Lower

Chang

et al. 2017

Preprint

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SummaryFireflies are among the best-studied of the bioluminescent organisms. Despite longterm interest in the biochemistry, neurobiology, and evolution of firefly flash signals and the widespread biotechnological applications of firefly luciferase, only a limited set of genes related to this complex trait have been described. To investigate the genetic basis of firefly bioluminescence, we generated a high-quality reference genome for the Big Dipper firefly Photinus pyralis, from which the first laboratory luciferase was cloned, using long-read (PacBio), short-read (Illumina), and Hi-C sequencing technologies. To facilitate comparative genomics, we also generated short-read genome assemblies for a Japanese firefly Aquatica lateralis and a bioluminescent click beetle, Ignelater luminosus. Analyses of these genomic datasets supports at least two independent gains of luminescence in beetles, and provides new insights into the evolution of beetle bioluminescence and chemical defenses that likely co-evolved over their 100 million years of evolution.

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Section: Non-enzyme Highly and Differentially Expressed Genes Of The mentioning

confidence: 78%

Firefly genomes illuminate parallel origins of bioluminescence in beetles

Fallon

Lower

Chang

et al. 2017

Preprint

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“…Of these 100 genera, Photinus and Photuris from North America ( Lewis & Cratsley, 2008 ; Faust, De Cock & Lewis, 2012 ; Stansbury & Moczek, 2014 ; Martin et al, 2015 ; Sander & Hall, 2015 ) and Pyrocoelia ( Fu et al, 2006a ) and Luciola ( Tsutomu, Hiroki & Eiichi, 1989 ; Fu et al, 2006b ; Oba et al, 2006 ; Ohtsuki et al, 2008 ; Oba & Kainuma, 2009 ; Oba et al, 2010 ) from Asia are the most studied, particularly their behaviors and cellular mechanisms. Bioluminescence, regarded as the most striking characteristic of fireflies, is a property generated by a chemical reaction in the photocyte cells situated in the sixth and seventh ventral segments of fireflies ( Greenfield, 2001 ; Stanger-Hall, Lloyd & Hillis, 2007 ; Goh & Li, 2011 ). Firefly bioluminescence is catalyzed by a luciferase enzyme in the presence of O 2 , ATP, and Mg 2+ ( Deluca, 1976 ; Baldwin, 1996 ) in a two-step reaction; D-luciferin is adenylated by ATP at the luciferase active site and converted into luciferyl-adenosine monophosphate (luciferyl-AMP).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transcriptome analysis reveals candidate genes involved in luciferin metabolism inLuciola aquatilis(Coleoptera: Lampyridae)

Vongsangnak

Chumnanpuen

Sriboonlert

2016

PeerJ

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Bioluminescence, which living organisms such as fireflies emit light, has been studied extensively for over half a century. This intriguing reaction, having its origins in nature where glowing insects can signal things such as attraction or defense, is now widely used in biotechnology with applications of bioluminescence and chemiluminescence. Luciferase, a key enzyme in this reaction, has been well characterized; however, the enzymes involved in the biosynthetic pathway of its substrate, luciferin, remains unsolved at present. To elucidate the luciferin metabolism, we performed a de novo transcriptome analysis using larvae of the firefly species, Luciola aquatilis. Here, a comparative analysis is performed with the model coleopteran insect Tribolium casteneum to elucidate the metabolic pathways in L. aquatilis. Based on a template luciferin biosynthetic pathway, combined with a range of protein and pathway databases, and various prediction tools for functional annotation, the candidate genes, enzymes, and biochemical reactions involved in luciferin metabolism are proposed for L. aquatilis. The candidate gene expression is validated in the adult L. aquatilis using reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR). This study provides useful information on the bio-production of luciferin in the firefly and will benefit to future applications of the valuable firefly bioluminescence system.

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“…To validate the presumption, we used a commercial enzymatic (uricase) assay kit that could specifically detect uric acid or urate. The light organ and other firefly body parts, including dorsal organ, thorax and head of L. cerata , were dissected as we reported previously [24], and further prepared for the evaluation of uric acid or urate concentration. It was estimated that the concentration (mg/g of dry weight of tissue) of uric acid or urate is about 44.80 in the light organ, 25.85 in the dorsal organ, 6.74 in the thorax, and 12.32 in the head (Fig.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To evaluate the uric acid amount in firefly tissues, the L. cerata was dissected into four body parts including the light organ (both 6 th and 7 th segments), the head, the thorax, and the dorsal organ as we reported previously [24]. All dissected tissues were dried in 60°C in vacuum overnight and followed by a precisely weighing.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Uric Acid Spherulites in the Reflector Layer of Firefly Light Organ

et al. 2013

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BackgroundIn firefly light organs, reflector layer is a specialized tissue which is believed to play a key role for increasing the bioluminescence intensity through reflection. However, the nature of this unique tissue remains elusive. In this report, we investigated the role, fine structure and nature of the reflector layer in the light organ of adult Luciola cerata.Principal FindingsOur results indicated that the reflector layer is capable of reflecting bioluminescence, and contains abundant uric acid. Electron microscopy (EM) demonstrated that the cytosol of the reflector layer's cells is filled with densely packed spherical granules, which should be the uric acid granules. These granules are highly regular in size (∼700 nm in diameter), and exhibit a radial internal structure. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses revealed that an intense single peak pattern with a d-spacing value of 0.320 nm is specifically detected in the light organ, and is highly similar to the diffraction peak pattern and d-spacing value of needle-formed crystals of monosodium urate monohydrate. However, the molar ratio evaluation of uric acid to various cations (K+, Na+, Ca2+ and Mg2+) in the light organ deduced that only a few uric acid molecules were in the form of urate salts. Thus, non-salt uric acid should be the source of the diffraction signal detected in the light organ.ConclusionsIn the light organ, the intense single peak diffraction signal might come from a unique needle-like uric acid form, which is different from other known structures of non-salt uric acid form. The finding of a radial structure in the granules of reflector layer implies that the spherical uric acid granules might be formed by the radial arrangement of needle-formed packing matter.

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A Photocytes-Associated Fatty Acid-Binding Protein from the Light Organ of Adult Taiwanese Firefly, Luciola cerata

Cited by 14 publications

References 42 publications

Firefly genomes illuminate parallel origins of bioluminescence in beetles

Firefly genomes illuminate parallel origins of bioluminescence in beetles

Transcriptome analysis reveals candidate genes involved in luciferin metabolism inLuciola aquatilis(Coleoptera: Lampyridae)

Uric Acid Spherulites in the Reflector Layer of Firefly Light Organ

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