Bioluminescence

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Bioluminescence

Bioluminescence is the production and emission of light

Light

Light, or visible light, is electromagnetic radiation of a wavelength that is Visible spectrum to the human eye , or up to 380?750 nm. In the broader field of physics, light is sometimes used to refer to electromagnetic radiation of all wavelengths, whether visible or not....
by a living organism

Organism

In biology, an organism is any life thing . In at least some form, all organisms are capable of response to stimulus , reproduction, growth and developmental biology, and maintenance of homeostasis as a stable whole....
as the result of a chemical reaction during which chemical energy is converted to light energy. Its name is a hybrid word

Hybrid word

A hybrid word is a Word which etymology has one part derived from one language and another part derived from a different language....
, originating from the Greek bios for "living" and the Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
lumen "light".

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Characteristics

Bioluminescence is a form of luminescence

Luminescence

Luminescence is light that usually occurs at low temperatures, and is thus a form of cold body radiation. It can be caused by chemical reactions, electrical energy, subatomic motions, or Stress on a crystal....
, or "cold light" emission; less than 20% of the light generates thermal radiation

Thermal radiation

Thermal radiation is electromagnetic radiation emitted from the surface of an object which is due to the object's temperature. Infrared radiation from a common household radiator or electric heater is an example of thermal radiation, as is the light emitted by a glowing incandescent light bulb....
. It should not be confused with fluorescence

Fluorescence

Fluorescence is a luminescence that is mostly found as an optical phenomenon in cold bodies, in which the molecular absorption of a photon triggers the emission of a photon with a longer wavelength....
, phosphorescence

Phosphorescence

File:Phosphorescence.jpgFile:Phosphorescent.jpgPhosphorescence is a specific type of photoluminescence related to fluorescent. Unlike fluorescence, a phosphorescent material does not immediately re-emit the radiation it absorbs....
or refraction

Refraction

Refraction is the change in direction of a wave due to a change in its speed. This is most commonly observed when a wave passes from one optical medium to another....
of light.

Ninety percent of deep-sea marine life is estimated to produce bioluminescence in one form or another. Most marine light-emission belongs in the blue

Blue

Blue is a colour, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 440?490 Nanometre....
and green

Green

Green is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 520?570-Nanometre....
light spectrum

Electromagnetic radiation

Electromagnetic radiation takes the form of wave propagation waves in a vacuum or in matter. EM radiation has an electric field and magnetic field component which oscillate in phase perpendicular to each other and to the direction of energy Wave propagation....
, the wavelengths that can transmit through the seawater

Seawater

Seawater is water from a sea or ocean. On average, seawater in the world's oceans has a salinity of about 3.5%, or 35 parts per thousand . This means that every 1 kg of seawater has approximately 35 grams of sea salt ....
most easily. However, certain loose-jawed fish emit red

Red

Red is any of a number of similar colors evoked by light consisting predominantly of the longest wavelengths of light discernible by the human eye, in the wavelength range of roughly 625?740 Nanometer....
and infrared

Infrared

Infrared radiation is electromagnetic radiation whose wavelength is longer than that of visible light , but shorter than that of terahertz radiation and microwaves ....
light and the genus Tomopteris
Tomopteris

Tomopteris is a genus of marine planktonic polychaete. If disturbed, some species are known to make a flurry of glowing sparks erupt from their parapodia....
emits yellow

Yellow

Yellow is the color evoked by light that stimulates both the L and M cone cells of the retina about equally, but does not significantly stimulate the S cone cells; that is, light with much red and green but not very much blue....
bioluminescence.

Non-marine bioluminescence is less widely distributed, but a larger variety in colours is seen. The two best-known forms of land bioluminescence are fireflies

Firefly

Phengodidae

The beetle family Phengodidae is known also as glowworm beetles, whose larvae are known as glowworms. The females and larvae have bioluminescence organs....
. Other insect

Insect

Insects are the biggest class of arthropods and the only ones with wings. They are the most diverse group of animals on the planet. They are most diverse at the equator and their diversity declines toward the poles....
s, insect larva

Larva

A larva is a young form of animal with indirect developmental biology, going through or undergoing metamorphosis .The larva can look completely different from the adult form, for example, a caterpillar differs from a butterfly....
e, annelid

Annelid

The annelids, collectively called Annelida , are a large Scientific classification of animals comprising the segmented worms, with about 15,000 modern species including the well-known earthworms and leeches....
s, arachnid

Arachnid

Arachnids are a class of Arthropod invertebrate animals in the subphylum Chelicerata. All arachnids have eight legs, but some exceptions are of some species having the first pair legs convert to sensory function and harvest mite larvae have only 3 pairs of legs....
s and even species of fungi

Fungus

A fungus is a Eukaryote organism that is a member of the Kingdom Fungi . The fungi are a monophyletic group, also called the Eumycota , that is phylogeny distinct from the morphologically similar slime molds and water molds ....
have been noted to possess bioluminescent abilities.

Some forms of bioluminescence are brighter (or only exist) at night, following a circadian rhythm

Circadian rhythm

A circadian rhythm is a roughly-24-hour cycle in the biochemical, physiological or behavioural processes of living beings, including plants, animals, fungi and cyanobacteria....
.

Adaptations for bioluminescence

There are five main accepted theories for the evolution of bioluminescent traits:

Camouflage

Attraction

Bioluminescence is used as a lure

Lure

Lure can refer to:* Lure * Lure coursing, a sport for dogs that involves chasing a mechanically operated lure* LURE Leeds Undergraduate Research Enterprise...
to attract prey by several deep sea fish

Deep sea fish

Deep sea fish is a term for fish that live below the photic zone of the ocean. Examples include the lanternfish, flashlight fish, cookiecutter shark, Gonostomatidaes, anglerfish, and viperfish...
such as the anglerfish

Anglerfish

Anglerfish are the members of the order Lophiiformes. They are Osteichthyes named for their characteristic mode of predation, wherein a fleshy growth from the fish's head acts as a Aggressive_mimicry#Food_as_an_attractant; this is considered analogous to angling....
. A dangling appendage

Appendage

An appendage in the broadest sense is an additional or subsidiary part existing on, or added to, something which can generally still function if the appendage has never existed or is later provided or grown, or will still perform a primary function if the appendage is removed....
that extends from the head of the fish attracts small animals to within striking distance of the fish. Some fish, however, use a non-bioluminescent lure.

The cookiecutter shark

Cookiecutter shark

The cookiecutter shark, Isistius brasiliensis, also known as the cigar shark or luminous shark, is a small rarely-seen dogfish shark....
uses bioluminescence for camouflage, but a small patch on its underbelly remains dark and appears as a small fish to large predatory fish like tuna

Tuna

Tuna are several species of ocean-dwelling fish in the family Scombridae, mostly in the genus Thunnus. Tunas are fast swimmers?they have been clocked at 70 km/h ?and include several species that are warm-blooded....
and mackerel

Mackerel

Mackerel is a common name applied to a number of different species of fish, mostly, but not exclusively, from the family Scombridae. They occur in all tropical and temperate seas....
. When these fish try to consume the "small fish", they are eaten by the shark.

Dinoflagellate

Dinoflagellate

The dinoflagellates are a large group of flagellate protists. Most are marine plankton, but they are common in fresh water habitats as well. Their populations are distributed depending on sea surface temperature, salinity, or depth....
s have an interesting twist on this mechanism. When a predator of plankton

Plankton

Plankton consist of any drifting organisms that inhabit the pelagic zone of oceans, seas, or bodies of fresh water. Plankton are defined by their ecological niche rather than their Phylogenetics or taxonomy classification....
is sensed through motion in the water, the dinoflagellate luminesces. This in turn attracts even larger predators which will consume the would-be predator of the dinoflagellate.

The attraction of mates

Mating

In biology, mating is the pairing of same-sex, opposite-sex or hermaphrodite organisms for copulation and, in social animals, also to raise their offspring....
is another proposed mechanism of bioluminescent action. This is seen actively in fireflies

Firefly

Lampyridae is a family of insects in the beetle order Coleoptera. They are winged beetles, and commonly called fireflies or lightning bugs for their conspicuous crepuscular use of bioluminescence to attract mates or prey....
, which use periodic flashing in their abdomens to attract mates in the mating season. In the marine environment this has only been well-documented in certain small crustaceans called ostracod. It has been suggested that pheromone

Pheromone

A pheromone is a chemical that triggers a natural behavioral response in another member of the opposite gender of the same species. There are alarm signal pheromones, food trail pheromones, sex pheromones, and many others that affect behavior or physiology....
s may be used for long-distance communication, and bioluminescent used at close range to "home in" on the target.

Repulsion

Certain squid

Squid

Squid are marine cephalopods of the order Teuthida, which comprises around 300 species. Like all other cephalopods, squid have a distinct head, Symmetry #Bilateral_symmetry, a mantle , and cephalopod arms....
and small crustacean

Crustacean

Crustaceans are a large group of arthropods, comprising almost 52,000 described species , and are usually treated as a subphylum . They include various familiar animals, such as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill and barnacles....
s use bioluminescent chemical mixtures or bioluminescent bacterial slurries in the same way as many squid use ink

Cephalopod ink

Cephalopod ink is a dark pigment released into water by most species of cephalopod, usually as an escape mechanism. All cephalopods, with the exception of the Nautilidae and the species of octopus belonging to the Order Cirrina, are able to release ink....
. A cloud of luminescence is expelled, confusing or repelling a potential predator while the squid or crustacean escapes to safety. Every species of firefly has larvae that glow to repel predators.

Communication

Bioluminescence is thought to play a direct role in communication between bacteria (see quorum sensing

Quorum sensing

Quorum sensing is a type of decision-making process used by decentralized groups to coordinate behavior. Many species of bacteria use quorum sensing to coordinate their gene expression according to the local density of their population....
). It promotes the symbiotic induction of bacteria into host species, and may play a role in colony aggregation.

Illumination

While most marine bioluminescence is green to blue, the Black Dragonfish

Stomiidae

Stomiidae is a family of deep-sea ray-finned fish, including the barbeled dragonfish, stareater , and loosejaw.Stomiids are generally elongated fish with black or near-black bodies, but they are highly variable in form, and are sometimes grouped into multiple different families as a result....
produces a red glow. This adaptation allows the fish to see red-pigmented prey, which are normally invisible in the deep ocean environment where red light has been filtered out by the water column .

Biotechnology

Bioluminescent organisms are a target for many areas of research. Luciferase systems are widely used in the field of genetic engineering

Genetic engineering

Engineering There are a number of ways through which genetic engineering is accomplished. Essentially, the process has five main steps# Isolation of the genes of interest...
as reporter gene

Reporter gene

In molecular biology, a reporter gene is a gene that researchers attach to another gene of interest in cell culture, animals or plants. Certain genes are chosen as reporters because the characteristics they confer on organisms expressing them are easily identified and measured, or because they are selectable markers....
s. Luciferase systems have also been harnessed for biomedical research using bioluminescence imaging

Bioluminescence imaging

Bioluminescence imaging is a technology developed over the past decade that allows for the noninvasive study of ongoing biological processes in small laboratory animals....
.

Vibrio
Vibrio

Vibrio is a genus of Gram-negative bacteria possessing a curved rod shape. Typically found in Seawater, Vibrio are Facultative anaerobic organism that test positive for oxidase and do not form spores....
symbiosis with numerous marine invertebrates

Marine invertebrates

The term "marine invertebrates" is used to describe animals found in a Marine environment which are invertebrates: lacking a notochord. In order to protect themselves, they may have evolved a Animal shell or a hard exoskeleton, but this is not always the case....
and fish

Fish

A fish is any marine biology vertebrate animal that is typically ectothermic , covered with scale , and equipped with two sets of paired fins and several unpaired fins....
, namely the Hawaiian Bobtail Squid

Hawaiian Bobtail Squid

The Hawaiian Bobtail Squid is a species of bobtail squid native to the central Pacific Ocean, where it occurs in shallow coastal waters off the Hawaiian Islands and Midway Atoll....
(Euprymna scolopes), are key experimental model

Model organism

A model organism is a species that is extensively studied to understand particular biology phenomena, with the expectation that discoveries made in the organism model will provide insight into the workings of other organisms....
for symbiosis

Symbiosis

The term symbiosis commonly describes close and often long-term interactions between different biological species. The term was first used in 1879 by the Germany mycology Heinrich Anton de Bary, who defined it as "the living together of unlike organisms"....
, quorum sensing

Quorum sensing

Quorum sensing is a type of decision-making process used by decentralized groups to coordinate behavior. Many species of bacteria use quorum sensing to coordinate their gene expression according to the local density of their population....
, and bioluminescence.

The structure of photophore

Photophore

A photophore is a light-emitting organ which appears as luminescence spots on various marine animals, including fish and cephalopods. The organ can be simple, or as complex as the human eye; equipped with lenses, shutters, color filters and reflectors ....
s, the light producing organs in bioluminescent organisms, are being investigated by industrial design

Industrial design

Industrial design is an applied art whereby the aesthetics and usability of mass-produced Product may be improved for marketability and Manufacturing....
ers.

Proposed applications of engineered bioluminescence

Some proposed applications of engineered bioluminescence include :

Glowing trees to line highway
Highway

A highway is a main road intended for travel by the public between important destinations, such as city and towns. Highway designs vary widely and can range from a two-lane road without margins to a multi-lane, grade separated freeway....
s to save government electricity
Electricity

Electricity is a general term that encompasses a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena such as lightning and static electricity, but in addition, less familiar concepts such as the electromagnetic field and electromagnetic induction....
bills
Christmas tree
Christmas tree

File:Christmas Tree.JPGThe Christmas tree is one of the most popular traditions associated with the celebration of Christmas. Normally an evergreen Pinophyta tree that is brought into a home or used in the open, a Christmas tree is decorated with Christmas lights and colourful Christmas ornaments during the days around Christmas....
s that do not need lights, reducing danger from electrical fires
Agricultural
Agriculture

Agriculture refers to the production of food and goods through farming and forestry. Agriculture was the key development that led to the rise of civilization, with the animal husbandry of domestication animals and plants creating food surpluses that enabled the development of more Population density and Social stratification societies....
crops and domestic plants that luminesce when they need watering
New methods for detecting bacterial contamination of meats and other foods
Bio-identifiers for escaped convicts and mental patients
Detecting bacterial species in suspicious corpses
Novelty pets that bioluminesce (rabbit
Rabbit

Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world. There are seven different genus in the family taxonomy as rabbits, including the European rabbit , Cottontail rabbit , and the Amami rabbit ....
s, mice
Mouse

A mouse is a small animal that belongs to one of numerous species of rodents. The best known mouse species is the House Mouse . It is also a popular pet....
, fish
Fish

A fish is any marine biology vertebrate animal that is typically ectothermic , covered with scale , and equipped with two sets of paired fins and several unpaired fins....
etc.)

Organisms that bioluminesce

All cells produce some form of bioluminescence within the electromagnetic spectrum, but most are neither visible nor noticeable to the naked eye. Every organism's bioluminescence is unique in wavelength, duration, timing and regularity of flashes. Below follows a list of organisms which have been observed to have visible bioluminescence.

Terrestrial organisms

certain arthropod
Arthropod

Arthropods are animals belonging to the Scientific classification Arthropoda , and include the insects, arachnids, crustaceans, and others....
s

fireflies
Firefly

Lampyridae is a family of insects in the beetle order Coleoptera. They are winged beetles, and commonly called fireflies or lightning bugs for their conspicuous crepuscular use of bioluminescence to attract mates or prey....
glow worms
Phengodidae

The beetle family Phengodidae is known also as glowworm beetles, whose larvae are known as glowworms. The females and larvae have bioluminescence organs....

railroad worm
Railroad worm

A railroad worm is a larva or larviform female adult of a beetle of the genus Phrixothrix in the family Phengodidae, characterized by their unique possession of two different colors of bioluminescence....
s

certain mycetophilid
Mycetophilidae

Mycetophilidae is a family of very small fly, forming the bulk of those species known as fungus gnats. There are approximately 3000 described species in 150 genera but the true number of species is undoubtedly much higher....
flies
Fly

True flies are insects of the Order Diptera , possessing a single pair of insect wing on the mesothorax and a pair of halteres, derived from the hind wings, on the metathorax....
certain centipede
Centipede

For information about the old arcade game, see Centipede .Centipedes are arthropods belonging to the class Chilopoda and the Subphylum Myriapoda....
s
certain millipede
Millipede

Millipedes are arthropods that have two pairs of arthropod leg per segment . Each segment that has two pairs of legs is a result of two single segments fused together as one....
s

annelid
Annelid

The annelids, collectively called Annelida , are a large Scientific classification of animals comprising the segmented worms, with about 15,000 modern species including the well-known earthworms and leeches....
s
Mushroom
Mushroom

A mushroom is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or on its food source. The standard for the name "mushroom" is the cultivated white button mushroom, Agaricus bisporus, hence the word mushroom is most often applied to those fungi that have a stem , a cap , and gills on the unde...
s (see Foxfire
Foxfire (bioluminescence)

Foxfire is the term for the bioluminescence created in the right conditions by a few species of fungus that decay wood. The luminescence is often attributed to members of the genus Armillaria, the Honey mushroom, though others are reported, and as many as 40 individual species have been identified....
)

Jack O'Lantern mushroom (Omphalotus olearius)
ghost fungus (Omphalotus nidiformis
Omphalotus nidiformis

Omphalotus nidiformis, or ghost fungus, is a gilled basidiomycete mushroom found in southern Australia most notable for its bioluminescence properties....
)
Honey mushroom
Panellus stipticus
several species of Mycena
Mycena

Mycena is a large genus of small saprotrophic mushrooms which are rarely more than a few centimeters in width. They are characterized by a white spore print, a small conical or bell-shaped cap, and a thin fragile stem....

a terrestrial mollusc

Dyakia striata

Fish

Cookie-cutter shark
Marine hatchetfish
Marine hatchetfish

Marine hatchetfish are big, deep-sea bathypelagic fish of the family Sternoptychidae, together with bottlelights, pearlsides and constellationfish....
Anglerfish
Anglerfish

Anglerfish are the members of the order Lophiiformes. They are Osteichthyes named for their characteristic mode of predation, wherein a fleshy growth from the fish's head acts as a Aggressive_mimicry#Food_as_an_attractant; this is considered analogous to angling....
Flashlight fish
Flashlight fish

The flashlight fish are a family, the Anomalopidae, of Beryciformes fish. There are some unrelated fish with similar features, some of which are also called flashlight fish....
Pineconefish
Porichthys
Gulper eel
Many rattail
Rattail

Grenadiers or rattails are generally large, brown to black gadiform marine fish of the family Macrouridae. Found at great depths from the Arctic Ocean to Antarctic Ocean, members of this family are among the most abundant of the deep-sea fishes....
s

Marine invertebrates

many cnidarians

Sea pen
Sea pen

Sea pens are colonial marine cnidarians belonging to the order Pennatulacea. There are 14 families within the order; they are thought to have a cosmopolitan distribution in tropical and temperate waters worldwide....
s
coral
Coral

Corals are marine organisms from the class Anthozoa and exist as small sea anemone?like polyps, typically in colonies of many identical individuals....
Aequorea victoria
Aequorea victoria

Aequorea victoria, also sometimes called the crystal jelly, is a bioluminescent hydrozoan jellyfish that is found off the west coast of North America....
, a jellyfish
Jellyfish

Jellyfish are free-swimming members of the phylum Cnidaria. They have several different morphologies that represent several different cnidarian classes including the Scyphozoa , Staurozoa , Cubozoa , and Hydrozoa ....

certain Ctenophore
Ctenophore

The Ctenophora , commonly known as comb jellies, is a phylum of animals that live in all types of marine waters world-wide. Their most distinctive feature is the "combs", groups of cilia that they use for swimming, and they are the largest animals that swim by means of cilia ? adults of various species range from a few millimeters to...
s or "comb jellies"
certain echinoderm
Echinoderm

Echinoderms are a Phylum of Marine animals . Echinoderms are found at every ocean depth, from the intertidal zone to the abyssal zone.Aside from the problematic Arkarua, the first definitive members of the phylum appeared near the start of the Cambrian period....
s (e.g Ophiurida
Ophiurida

The Ophiurida are an order of echinoderms within the Class Ophiuroidea. It includes the vast majority of living brittle stars....
)
certain nudibranch
Nudibranch

A nudibranch is a member of one suborder of soft-bodied, shell-less marine opisthobranch gastropod mollusks, which are noted for their often extraordinary colors and striking forms....
s
certain crustacean
Crustacean

Crustaceans are a large group of arthropods, comprising almost 52,000 described species , and are usually treated as a subphylum . They include various familiar animals, such as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill and barnacles....
s

ostracod
Ostracod

Ostracoda is a Class of the Crustacea, sometimes known as the seed shrimp because of their appearance. Some 65,000 species have been identified, grouped into several orders....
s
krill
Krill

Krill are a type of shrimp-like marine invertebrate animal. These small crustaceans are important organisms of the zooplankton, particularly as food for baleen whales, manta rays, whale sharks, crabeater seals, and other pinniped, and a few seabird species that feed almost exclusively on them....

certain molluscs

clam
Clam

Clam is a word which can be used for all, some, or only a few species of bivalve mollusks; the word is a common name which has no real Taxonomy significance in biology....
s
Octopus
Octopus

The octopus is a cephalopod of the order Octopoda that inhabits many diverse regions of the ocean, especially coral reefs. The term may also refer to only those creatures in the genus Octopus ....

Bolitaenidae
Bolitaenidae

Bolitaenidae is a family of small, common pelagic zone octopuses found in all tropical and temperate oceans of the world. The family's taxonomy is not entirely certain; recent research suggests there should be just two genera, Bolitaena and Japetella, both of which are thought to be monotypic....

the order Teuthida

Colossal Squid
Colossal Squid

The Colossal Squid , sometimes called the Antarctic or Giant Cranch Squid, is believed to be the Cephalopod size squid species. It is the only known member of the genus Mesonychoteuthis....
Mastigoteuthidae
Sepiolidae
Sepiolidae

Sepiolidae is a family of bobtail squid encompassing 15 genus in three or four subfamily....
Sparkling Enope Squid
Vampire squid
Vampire Squid

The Vampire Squid is a small, deep-sea cephalopod found throughout the temperate and tropical oceans of the world. Unique retractile sensory filaments justify the Vampire Squid's placement in its own order : Vampyromorphida , though it shares similarities with both squid and octopuses....

Microorganisms

Dinoflagellate
Dinoflagellate

The dinoflagellates are a large group of flagellate protists. Most are marine plankton, but they are common in fresh water habitats as well. Their populations are distributed depending on sea surface temperature, salinity, or depth....
s
Vibrionaceae
Vibrionaceae

The Vibrionaceae are a family of Proteobacteria, given their own order. Inhabitants of fresh or salt water, several species are pathogenic, including the type species Vibrio cholerae, which is the agent responsible for cholera....
(e.g. Vibrio fischeri
Vibrio fischeri

Vibrio fischeri is a gram-negative rod-shaped bacterium found globally in the ocean environments. V. fischeri has bioluminescence properties, and is found predominantly in symbiosis with various marine animals, such as the bobtail squid....
, Vibrio harveyi
Vibrio harveyi

'Vibrio harveyi' is a species of Gram-negative, bioluminescence, marine bacteria in the genus Vibrio. Ecology similar to Vibrio fischeri, V....
, Vibrio phosphoreum
Photobacterium phosphoreum

Photobacterium phosphoreum or Vibrio phosphoreum is a Gram-negative bioluminescence bacterium living in symbiosis with marine organisms. It can emit bluish-green light thanks to a chemical reaction between Flavin mononucleotide, luciferin and molecular oxygen catalysed by an enzyme called Luciferase....
)

External links

at San Diego Natural History Museum
San Diego Natural History Museum

The San Diego Natural History Museum was founded in 1874 as the San Diego Society of Natural History. The present location of the museum in San Diego, California Balboa Park, San Diego, California was dedicated on January 14, 1933....
article describing cookie-cutter shark adaptation
article from Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Scripps Institution of Oceanography

Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, California, is one of the oldest and largest centers for ocean and earth science research, graduate training, and public service in the world....
at Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute

The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute is a not-for-profit oceanographic research center in Moss Landing, California affiliated with the Monterey Bay Aquarium....
on the UF
University of Florida

The University of Florida is a Public university land-grant university, sea grant colleges, Space grant colleges major research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida, in the United States....
/ IFAS
Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences

The University of Florida?s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is a federal-state-county partnership dedicated to developing knowledge in agriculture, human and natural resources, and the life sciences, and enhancing and sustaining the quality of human life by making that information accessible....
Featured Creatures Web site

Bioluminescence

Characteristics

Adaptations for bioluminescence

Camouflage

Attraction

Repulsion

Communication

Illumination

Biotechnology

Proposed applications of engineered bioluminescence

Organisms that bioluminesce

Terrestrial organisms

Fish

Marine invertebrates

Microorganisms

See also

External links