Miriam M. Ziegler

Biochemistry of Bacterial Bioluminescence

Publisher Summary The luminous bacteria have been isolated from marine environments all over the world, both from seawater and from the light organs of certain fish and squid, and from nonmarine habitats as well. The recent taxonomic studies have placed the luminous bacteria in several major groups: marine forms in the genera Photobacterium, Beneckea and Alteromonas , and nonmarine forms in the genera Vibrio and Xenorhabdus . Among the marine luminous bacteria, Photobacterium species occur as symbionts within specialized light organs of higher organisms; Beneckea species have not been found associated with light organs, but members of both genera occur as gut symbionts. The ecology of the luminous bacteria and its relationship to the control of synthesis and expression of the luminescent system has recently been reviewed in some detail. This chapter discusses the present understanding of the reaction catalyzed by bacterial luciferase and the enzyme

Structure of bacterial luciferase.

The generation of light by living organisms such as fireflies, glow-worms, mushrooms, fish, or bacteria growing on decaying materials has been a subject of fascination throughout the ages, partly because it occurs without the need for high temperatures. The chemistry behind the numerous bioluminescent systems is quite varied, and the enzymes that catalyze the reactions, the luciferases, are a large and evolutionarily diverse group. The structure of the best understood of these intriguing enzymes, bacterial luciferase, has recently been determined, allowing discussion of features of the protein in structural terms for the first time.