BIOLUMINESCENCE Javier Millán Acosta 1C

ORIGINS OF THE WORD DEFINITION Like lots of english scientific words, 'bioluminiscence' comes from another languages. It is a word that comes from the Greek word ''bios'' (living) and the Latin word ''lumen'' (light). DEFINITION Bioluminescence is a word that means living light, so we say that an organism has bioluminesce when it produces its own light. Sea pen, a marine organism that produces its own light.

SOME ORGANISMS THAT HAVE IT Lampyris noctiluca (glow-worm) Panellus stipticus (bitter oyster) Saccopharyngiformes (gulper eel) This animal lives in the west of Portugal and Britain, across all Europe and in the east of China. This fungi is common in northern temperate regions of Europe, and has also been collected in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and China. This family of strange fish is in Northern Atlantic Ocean, in deep sea.

BIOLUMINESCENCE IN THE OCEAN Ninety percent of deep-sea marine life are estimated to produce bioluminescence in one form or another. Bioluminescence is used as a lure to attract prey by some deep sea fish as the anglerfish. The cookiecutter shark uses bioluminescence for camouflage. Small crustaceans called ostracod use the bioluminescence to attract a mate.

BIOLUMINESCENCE IN THE GROUND The firefly uses biolumi-nescence to attract a mate, like the ostracod. The larvae of glow-worm uses bioluminescence to repel predators. Fireflies use flashings in their abdomens to attract mates.

WHAT ARE... LUCIFERIN AND LUCIFERASE? Luciferin is a pigment in organisms with bioluminescence. Its composition is sulfur, nitrogen, carbon, oxygen and hydrogen. In a chemichal reaction with luciferase, it produces light. Luciferase is a protein that, in association with luciferin, produces light. This process produces CO2 (carbon dioxide) Firefly luciferin pigment. In this picture, colour yellow is sulfur; blue is nitrogen; black is carbon; red is oxygen and white is hydrogen. Structure of a luciferase protein.

IN MICROSCOPIC ANIMALS BIOLUMINESCENCE IN MICROSCOPIC ANIMALS Vibronaceae: most bioluminescent bacteria belong to this family. They are plankton. Dinoflagellatesare: a group of plankton organisms that make their own light. They also make photosynthesis.

Bioluminescent plankton in Cairns, Australia. CURIOSI TIES Foxfire is the term for bioluminescence that we use to call some fungi species that decay wood of the trees, like panellus stipticus. Wheels of Poseidon happens when the bioluminiscent zooplankton makes a shining aura in the bows of ships in Indian ocean. Bioluminescent plankton in Cairns, Australia.