Biochemistry of Luminescence

9303842下村生物发光是一种发生在各种生物体内或分泌物中的化学发光现象。光发射所需的能量是由特定的荧光素酶催化的荧光素的氧化，或通过涉及光蛋白的反应提供的。不同类型的生物体的发光反应往往有很大的不同，因此有许多不同的发光系统。该项目的最终目标是对生物发光及其作用有完整的生物化学理解。为了实现这一目标，在各种不同类型的生物发光体系中识别必要的关键成分并确定它们的化学结构以及阐明发光反应的机理是至关重要的。现有的关于生物发光的知识包括8种不同的荧光素的化学结构和19种不同的生物发光系统的重要信息，其中P.I.贡献了5种荧光素和12种生物发光系统，包括光蛋白Aequorin系统。将对真菌和真虾(磷虾)的生物发光进行研究。还将对生物发光反应中的氧化机理进行研究。本研究的长期目标是全面了解生物发光的生物化学，包括发光的基本反应机制和生物发光反应在生物体中的作用。在这项研究中，最重要的是确定关键物质的化学性质，并阐明在不同类型的生物体中发生的各种不同的生物发光系统中涉及的反应机制。***

9303842 Shimomura Bioluminescence is a phenomenon of chemiluminescence that occurs in the body or secretion of wide varieties of organisms. The energy required for light emission is supplied by the oxidation of a luciferin catalyzed by a specific luciferase, or through a reaction involving a photoprotein. The light-emitting reactions of different types of organisms are often significantly different, thus there are a number of different luminescence systems. The ultimate goal of this project is the complete biochemical understanding of bioluminescence and its roles. To achieve this goal, it is essential to identify the necessary key components and determine their chemical structures in various different types of bioluminescence system and also to elucidate the mechanism of the light-emitting reactions. The knowledge on bioluminescence presently available includes the chemical structures of 8 different luciferins and significant information on 19 different bioluminescence systems, of which the P.I. contributed to 5 of the luciferins and 12 of the bioluminescence systems, including the system of the photoprotein aequorin. Studies will be carried out on bioluminescence in fungi and euphausiid shrimp (krill). The mechanism of oxygenation in bioluminescence reactions will also be studied. %%% The long-range objective of this research is the complete biochemical understanding of bioluminescence, which encompasses the fundamental reaction mechanism of light emission and the roles of bioluminescence reactions in living organisms. In this research, it is of primary importance to determine the chemical nature of the key substances and to elucidate the mechanism of the reactions involved, in various different bioluminescence systems that occur in diverse types of organisms. ***