Luciferin

Luciferin is a generic name for light-emitting pigments found in organisms capable of bioluminescence, like fireflies, deep-sea fish and microbes. It was named after the Roman God of light, Lucifer.

Luciferin is oxidized in the presence of the enzyme luciferase to produce oxyluciferin and energy in the form of light. There are five general types of luciferins.

Luciferins (different from the enzyme luciferase)

Firefly luciferin

Firefly luciferin is the luciferin found in fireflies. It is the substrate of luciferin luciferase (EC 1.13.12.7)

Bacterial luciferin

Bacterial luciferin is a type of luciferin found in bacteria, some squids and fishes. It consists of a long-chain aldehyde and a reduced riboflavin phosphate.

Dinoflagellate luciferin

Dinoflagellate luciferin is a chlorophyll derivative and is found in dinoflagellates (a type of marine plankton), and a very similar type is found in some types of euphausiid shrimp.

Vargulin

Vargulin is found in ostracods and Poricthys. It is an imidazolopyrazine.

Coelenterazine

Coelenterazine is found in radiolarians, ctenophores, cnidarians, squid, copepods, chaetognaths, fish and shrimp. It is the light-emitting molecule in the protein aequorin.

External links

Major Luciferin types

Pigments | Bioluminescence | Fluorescent dyes