Unraveling the Mystery of Insect Bioluminescent Systems

Researchers at the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar) isolated molecules present in the larvae of a blue light-emitting fungus gnat that inhabits the Appalachians. The study will help elucidate human diseases and could lead to novel biotech applications. Image: Larvae of the fungus gnat. Credit: Orfelia fultoni / Vadim Viviani, UFSCar

Researchers isolated molecules present in the larvae of a blue light-emitting fungus gnat that inhabits the Appalachians; the study will help elucidate human diseases and could lead to novel biotech applications.

Molecules belonging to an almost unknown bioluminescent system found in larvae of the fungus gnat Orfelia fultoni (subfamily Keroplatinae) have been isolated for the first time by researchers at the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar) in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The small fly is one of the few terrestrial organisms that produce blue light. It inhabits riverbanks in the Appalachian Mountains in the eastern United States. A key part of its bioluminescent system is a molecule also present in two recently discovered Brazilian flies.

The study, supported by FAPESP, is published in Scientific Reports. Five authors are affiliated with UFSCar and two with universities in the United States.

The bioluminescent systems of glow-worms, fireflies and other insects are normally made up of luciferin (a low molecular weight molecule) and luciferase, an enzyme that catalyzes the oxidation of luciferin by oxygen, producing light. While some bioluminescent systems are well known and even used in biotechnological applications, others are poorly understood, including blue light-emitting systems, such as that of O. fultoni.

Larvae of the Brazilian gnat Neoditomyia sp. emitted blue light after being injected with the luciferase extracted from O. fultoni. Credit: Vadim Viviani / UFSCar

“In the published paper, we describe the properties of the insect’s luciferase and luciferin and their anatomical location in its larvae. We also specify several possible proteins that are possible candidates for the luciferase. We don’t yet know what type of protein it is, but it’s likely to be a hexamerin. In insects, hexamerins are storage proteins that provide

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.