Characteristics of luciferases from a variety of firefly species: Evidence for the presence of luciferase isozymes

Genome analysis of Phrixothrix hirtus (Phengodidae) railroad worm shows the expansion of odorant-binding gene families and positive selection on morphogenesis and sex determination genes

Among bioluminescent beetles of the Elateroidea superfamily, Phengodidae is the third largest family, with 244 bioluminescent species distributed only in the Americas, but is still the least studied from the phylogenetic and evolutionary points of view. The railroad worm Phrixothrix hirtus is an essential biological model and symbolic species due to its bicolor bioluminescence, being the only organism that produces true red light among bioluminescent terrestrial species. Here, we performed partial genome assembly of P. hirtus, combining short and long reads generated with Illumina sequencing, providing the first source of genomic information and a framework for comparative analyses of the bioluminescent system in Elateroidea. This is the largest genome described in the Elateroidea superfamily, with an estimated size of ∼3.4 Gb, displaying 32 % GC content, and 67 % transposable elements. Comparative genomic analyses showed a positive selection of genes and gene family expansion events of growths and morphogenesis gene products, which could be associated with the atypical anatomical development and morphogenesis found in paedomorphic females and underdeveloped males. We also observed gene family expansion among distinct odorant-binding receptors, which could be associated with the pheromone communication system typical of these beetles, and retrotransposable elements. Common genes putatively regulating bioluminescence production and control, including two luciferase genes corresponding to lateral lanterns green-emitting and head lanterns red-emitting luciferases with 7 exons and 6 introns, and genes potentially involved in luciferin biosynthesis were found, indicating that there are no clear differences about the presence or absence of gene families associated with bioluminescence in Elateroidea.

Larval and Adult Emission Spectra of Bioluminescence in Three European Firefly Species¶

We studied the spectral characteristics of the larvae of three sympatric Belgian species of fireflies, Lampyris noctiluca, Phosphaenus hemipterus and Lamprohiza splendidula. An in vivo spectral study was performed to compare bioluminescence spectra. The emission spectrum of a laboratory reared female L. noctiluca was recorded by a different, more exact method. The mean peak wavelength (lambdamax = 546 nm) and shapes of the unimodal emission spectra are visually similar for the larvae of all three species. The emission spectrum of the adult female L. noctiluca peaked in the same range as the larval bioluminescence between 546 and 551 nm. The bandwidth at half-maximum intensity was slightly greater for larval L. noctiluca (77 +/- 4 nm) compared with P. hemipterus (70 +/- 10 nm). The bandwidth of larval L. splendidula (77 +/- 8 nm) was not different compared with the other larvae, whereas the females' bandwidth was somewhat narrower (68 nm). The ecological significance of the color of bioluminescence and conservancy of green emission in larval fireflies and other luminescent beetle larvae is discussed.

Cloning and sequencing of a cDNA for firefly luciferase from Photuris pennsylvanica

The first cDNA from the Photurinae subfamily of the Lampyridae encoding a firefly luciferase from lantern mRNA of Photuris pennsylvanica has been cloned, sequenced, the amino-acid sequence predicted and the sequence reported to GenBank. The cDNA was about 1.8 kb in length with the largest open reading frame coding for a 545-residue protein. The 5' noncoding region is 61 bp long and the 3' noncoding region is 135 bp in length. There is a 24-nucleotide poly(A) tail. When the amino-acid residues are aligned, P. pennsylvanica contains 154 (about 28% of the total residues) that are conserved in all 16 of the deduced luciferase sequences that are presently available. In this P. pennsylvanica luciferase, the amino acids at 276 of the positions are the same at corresponding positions of at least one of the other enzymes. There are two amino-acid differences between this luciferase and the unpublished sequence obtained by Dr. Keith Wood for a putative larval Photuris firefly luciferase cloned from a Maryland firefly. Signature amino-acid sequences and domains found in the deduced sequence are for adenylate kinase, the putative AMP-binding domain, luciferin 4-monooxygenase, 4-coumarate CoA ligase, long-chain fatty acid CoA ligase, 2-acylglycerophosphoethanolamine acyltransferase, the microbody-directing sequence, peptide-synthesizing complexes, and acyladenylate-synthesizing enzymes.

The stress-related production of the active Photinus pyralis and Luciola mingrelica firefly luciferases in Escherichia coli

The kinetics of Photinus pyralis and Luciola mingrelica luciferase gene expression was studied on plasmids with the thermoinducible lambda PR promoter in Escherichia coli by SDS-gel electrophoresis of cell lysates to follow luciferase protein-synthesized, enzyme immunoassay (EIA) to follow native enzyme conformer, and the luciferase activity assay. E. coli cells were cultivated at temperature schemes 28-42-21 degrees C or 28-21 degrees C, or at alkali pH shift. In the cases of thermoinduction and pH shift, the luciferase expressions have similar features. The 3-h thermoinduction (42 degrees C) followed by the incubation at 21 degrees C, for 10 h resulted in the maximal amount of the luciferase protein of 4-5% of the total cell proteins. The yield did not change further. The amount of native luciferase conformer and the luciferase activity started to grow after incubation for 10 h at 21 degrees C and reached the maximum after 50-60 h when the synthesized luciferase protein adopted the native-like conformation. At the same time, only 50% of the latter appeared to be catalytically active. An increase in the enzymatic activity correlates with an increase in the intracellular pH and ATP content. Intracellular metabolic reactions were shown to play a role in the conformational changes of the enzyme in a postthermoinduction period, and a possible mechanism of this effect is proposed.

In memoriam Dr Marlene DeLuca. 1987 O. M. Smith Lecture. Firefly luciferase: mechanism of action, cloning and expression of the active enzyme

The untimely death of Marlene DeLuca in 1987 has deprived the scientific community of an outstanding expert on bioluminescence. Earlier in that year she was honoured as the thirty-ninth recipient of the Otto Mitchell Smith Lectureship Award at Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma. On 20 March 1987 Dr DeLuca presented a scientific lecture entitled 'Firefly Luciferase--Mechanism of Action, Cloning, and Expression of the Active Enzyme' and a popular lecture at the banquet that evening entitled 'Light and Life'. She was selected for her excellence in research, her oral presentation ability, and her personableness. Marlene was the first woman so honoured. To honour Dr Otto M. Smith the Alpha Delta Chapter of Phi Lambda Upsilon, a national chemistry honorary organization, inaugurated The Otto Mitchell Smith Lectureship in 1948 at Oklahoma State University. Former awardees include Nobel Laureates H. C. Brown, Stanford Moore, and Arthur Kornberg and the following prominent biochemists/molecular biologists: Robert A. Alberty, University of Wisconsin; Daniel E. Koshland, Brookhaven National Laboratory; Sol Spiegelman, University of Illinois; Carl Djerassi, Stanford University; and John T. Edsall, Harvard University. The lectureship honours Dr O. M. Smith, who was Director of the Research Foundation, professor, and Head of the Departments of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering. As a tribute to Dr DeLuca's outstanding contribution to bioluminescence we reproduce here the edited text of her Otto Mitchell Smith Lectureship and a selected bibliography of her work on firefly bioluminescence.