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Luciferin

Luciferin is one of several light-emitting pigments found in bioluminescent organisms like fireflies, certain species of deep-sea creatures, and some microbes. When luciferin is oxidized in the presence of luciferase, a catalyzing enzyme, it produces oxyluciferin and energy in the form of light, causing the creature it is found in to glow in one of several colors.

Some of the luciferin-bearing creatures we know of are fireflies; certain bacteria, squids and fish, which all share the same type of bacterial luciferin; dinoflagellates, which use a chlorophyll type of luciferin similar to that of certain types of euphausiid shrimp; ostracods and Poricthys, which use vargulin, an imidazolopyrazine (which has several medical uses); and radiolarians, ctenophores, cnidarians, some squid, copepods, chaetognaths, some fish, and some shrimp all use coelenterazine, part of the protein aequorin.

Web Resources On Luciferin

Major Luciferin Types
Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution

Book Resources On Luciferin

The measurement of luciferin and luciferase by Aurin M Chase
The minimum concentration of luciferin to give a visible luminescence by Princeton University

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