A low molecular weight protein (approximately 25,000 D) exhibiting a yellow fluorescence emission peaking at approximately 540 nm was isolated from Vibrio fischeri (strain Y-1) and purified to apparent homogeneity. FMN is the chromophore, but it exhibits marked red shifts in both the absorption (lambda max = 380, 460 nm) and the fluorescence emission. When added to purified luciferase from the ...

Tögel F, Yang Y, Zhang P, Hu Z, Westenfelder C. Bioluminescence imaging to monitor the in vivo distribution of administered mesenchymal stem cells in acute kidney injury. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol 295: F315–F321, 2008. First published May 14, 2008; doi:10.1152/ajprenal.00098.2008.—Effective and targeted delivery of cells to injured organs is critical to the development of cell therapies. Howev...

Increased levels of unconjugated bilirubin are neurotoxic, but the mechanism leading to neurological damage has not been completely elucidated. Innovative strategies of investigation are needed to more precisely define this pathological process. By longitudinal in vivo bioluminescence imaging, we noninvasively visualized the brain response to hyperbilirubinemia in the MITO-Luc mouse, in which l...

In vivo bioluminescence imaging is becoming increasingly popular. Quantification of bioluminescence signals requires knowledge of the variability and reproducibility of this technique. The objective of this study was to analyze the time course of luminescent signal emitted from firefly luciferase-expressing tumors in two locations, following luciferin injection and at different times after tu...

From ten species of bioluminescent coelenterates we have isolated a membrane-enclosed subcellular particle that is apparently responsible for the bioluminescence in these animals. The animals investigated were species of Obelia and Clyfia (from the class Hydrozoa) and species of Renilta, Pfilosarcus, Sfylafula, Acanfhopfilum, and Parazoanfhus (from the class Anthozoa). By electron microscopy th...

On many occasions over the centuries, mariners have reported witnessing surreal nocturnal displays where the surface of the sea produces an intense, uniform, and sustained glow that extends to the horizon in all directions. Although such emissions cannot be fully reconciled with the known features of any light-emitting organism, these so-called "milky seas" are hypothesized to be manifestations...

Bioluminescence is a common feature in the permanent darkness of the deep-sea. In fishes, light is emitted by organs containing either photogenic cells (intrinsic photophores), which are under direct nervous control, or symbiotic luminous bacteria (symbiotic photophores), whose light is controlled by secondary means such as mechanical occlusion or physiological suppression. The intrinsic photop...

BACKGROUND We investigated the utility of bioluminescence imaging (BLI) using firefly luciferase in monoclonal and polyclonal populations of leukemia cells in vitro and in vivo. METHODS Monoclonal and polyclonal human lymphoid and myeloid leukemia cell lines transduced with firefly luciferase were used for BLI. RESULTS Kinetics and dynamics of bioluminescence signal were cell line dependent...

The rediscovery of the Californian millipede Xystocheir bistipita surprisingly reveals that the species is bioluminescent. Using molecular phylogenetics, we show that X. bistipita is the evolutionary sister group of Motyxia, the only genus of New World bioluminescent millipedes. We demonstrate that bioluminescence originated in the group's most recent common ancestor and evolved by gradual, dir...