Luciferase activity of the intracellular microcrystal of the firefly squid,<i>Watasenia scintillans</i>

Hamanaka, Toshiaki; Michinomae, Masanao; Seidou, Masatsugu; Miura, Keiko; Inoue, Katsuaki; Kito, Yuji

doi:10.1016/j.febslet.2011.07.033

Cited by 12 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 15 publications

(24 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In 2011, Hamanaka et al . confirmed that the rod-shaped objects are protein crystals, and demonstrated that they are the source of light production in the squid arm tip photophores12. This is the only report of naturally occurring protein crystals that are able to catalyse a bioluminescent reaction.…”

supporting

confidence: 58%

“…Both samples clearly showed two bands of approximately 59 and 81 kDa, assumed to be equivalent to the bands observed by Hamanaka et al . (approximately 63 and 81 kDa), where the crystals were purified using sucrose gradient centrifugation12. Whereas Hamanaka et al .…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…suggest that the dense packing of the bioluminescent system in a crystal structure may enable W. scintillans to produce particularly intense light12.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Why the ANL enzymes have evolved a step further in W. scintillans than the luciferases found in insects and developed the ability to form crystals is so far unknown, however, Hamanka et al . suggest that the dense packing of the bioluminescent system in a crystal structure may enable W. scintillans to produce particularly intense light 12 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Mass spectrometry analysis and transcriptome sequencing reveal glowing squid crystal proteins are in the same superfamily as firefly luciferase

Gimenez

Metcalf

Paterson

et al. 2016

Sci Rep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The Japanese firefly squid Hotaru-ika (Watasenia scintillans) produces intense blue light from photophores at the tips of two arms. These photophores are densely packed with protein microcrystals that catalyse the bioluminescent reaction using ATP and the substrate coelenterazine disulfate. The squid is the only organism known to produce light using protein crystals. We extracted microcrystals from arm tip photophores and identified the constituent proteins using mass spectrometry and transcriptome libraries prepared from arm tip tissue. The crystals contain three proteins, wsluc1–3, all members of the ANL superfamily of adenylating enzymes. They share 19 to 21% sequence identity with firefly luciferases, which produce light using ATP and the unrelated firefly luciferin substrate. We propose that wsluc1–3 form a complex that crystallises inside the squid photophores, and that in the crystal one or more of the proteins catalyses the production of light using coelenterazine disulfate and ATP. These results suggest that ANL superfamily enzymes have independently evolved in distant species to produce light using unrelated substrates.

show abstract

supporting

confidence: 58%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…suggest that the dense packing of the bioluminescent system in a crystal structure may enable W. scintillans to produce particularly intense light12.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Mass spectrometry analysis and transcriptome sequencing reveal glowing squid crystal proteins are in the same superfamily as firefly luciferase

Gimenez

Metcalf

Paterson

et al. 2016

Sci Rep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The firefly squid Watasenia scintillans emits intense blue bioluminescence from photophores located at the tip of two of its arms. Within the photophore, luciferases are specifically organised in microcrystals, and these proteins are catalysing the bioluminescent reaction using the coelenterazine disulfate luciferin and ATP (Hamanaka et al, 2011;Tsuji et al, 1985). The involvement of ATP in the luminescence reaction was however questioned (Teranishi and Shimomura 2008;Shimomura 2012).…”

Section: Fungi Luciferases (Group Iii) a Common Type Of Luciferase For All Fungimentioning

confidence: 99%

Leaving the Dark Side? Insights Into the Evolution of Luciferases

Delroisse¹,

Duchatelet²,

Flammang³

et al. 2021

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Bioluminescence – i.e., the emission of visible light by living organisms - is defined as a biochemical reaction involving, at least, a luciferin substrate, an oxygen derivative, and a specialised luciferase enzyme. In some cases, the enzyme and the substrate are durably associated and form a photoprotein. While this terminology is educatively useful to explain bioluminescence, it gives a false idea that all luminous organisms are using identical or homologous molecular tools to achieve light emission. As usually observed in biology, reality is more complex. To date, 11 different luciferins have indeed been discovered, and several non-homologous luciferases lato sensu have been identified which, all together, confirms that bioluminescence emerged independently multiple times during the evolution of living organisms. While some phylogenetically related organisms may use non-homologous luciferases (e.g., at least four convergent luciferases are found in Pancrustacea), it has also been observed that phylogenetically distant organisms may use homologous luciferases (e.g., parallel evolution observed in some cnidarians, tunicates and echinoderms that are sharing a homologous luciferase-based system). The evolution of luciferases then appears puzzling. The present review takes stock of the diversity of known “bioluminescent proteins”, their evolution and potential evolutionary origins. A total of 134 luciferase and photoprotein sequences have been investigated (from 75 species and 11 phyla), and our analyses identified 12 distinct types – defined as a group of homologous bioluminescent proteins. The literature review indicated that genes coding for luciferases and photoproteins have potentially emerged as new genes or have been co-opted from ancestral non-luciferase/photoprotein genes. In this latter case, the homologous gene’s co-options may occur independently in phylogenetically distant organisms.

show abstract

Cytological changes during luminescence production in lanternshark (Etmopterus spinax Linnaeus, 1758) photophores

et al. 2014

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Luciferase activity of the intracellular microcrystal of the firefly squid,Watasenia scintillans

Cited by 12 publications

References 15 publications

Mass spectrometry analysis and transcriptome sequencing reveal glowing squid crystal proteins are in the same superfamily as firefly luciferase

Mass spectrometry analysis and transcriptome sequencing reveal glowing squid crystal proteins are in the same superfamily as firefly luciferase

Leaving the Dark Side? Insights Into the Evolution of Luciferases

Cytological changes during luminescence production in lanternshark (Etmopterus spinax Linnaeus, 1758) photophores

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About