Illuminating luciferin bioluminescence in dinoflagellates

夜光藻和其他甲藻是欧洲海洋中大多数生物发光和常见的蓝光水华的来源。甲藻生物发光目前尚不清楚其生态作用，但其在海洋食物网中的明显重要性[2，3]突出了了解其环境调节和分子基础的必要性。知识的基本空白包括生物发光在自然种群中如何变化[3]，以及甲藻如何产生荧光素[1]。我们假设(A)生物发光强度和蛋白质表达在单个细胞中不同，并受昼夜节律调节；(B)荧光素是由焦脱镁叶绿酸a分子的加氧酶产生的。这些问题的研究将有助于阐明生物发光的环境作用，并加速甲藻荧光素的工业化应用。

Noctiluca scintillans (the sea sparkle) and other dinoflagellates are responsible for most bioluminescence in European seas and familiar blue-glow blooms. Dinoflagellate bioluminescence has a currently unclear ecological role, but its apparent importance in marine food webs [2,3] highlights the need to understand its environmental regulation and molecular underpinning. Fundamental gaps in knowledge include how bioluminescence varies within natural populations [3] and how dinoflagellates produce luciferin [1]. We hypothesize that (a) Bioluminescence intensity and protein expression vary among individual cells and are circadian-regulated; (b) Luciferin is generated by an oxygenase enzyme from the pyropheophorbide a molecule. The investigation of these issues will help illuminate the environmental role of bioluminescence and accelerate the industrial use of dinoflagellate luciferin.