Illuminating luciferin bioluminescence in dinoflagellates

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.