Jugnu The Light

Jugnu The Light

Bioluminescence

Bioluminescence is the production and emission of light by a living organism. Bioluminescent creatures are found throughout marine habitats, from the ocean surface to the deep seafloor.

Fireflies produce a chemical reaction inside their bodies that allows them to light up. This type of light production is called bioluminescence.

 The method by which fireflies produce light is perhaps the best known example of bioluminescence.

Cold light

When oxygen combines with calcium, adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and the chemical luciferin( Luciferin is a generic term for the light-emitting compound found in organisms that generate bioluminescence. ) int he presence of luciferase, a bioluminescent enzyme, light is produced. Unlike a light bulb, which produces a lot of heat in addition to light, a firefly's light is "cold light" without a lot of energy being lost as heat. This is necessary because if a firefly's light-producing organ got as hot as a light bulb, the firefly would not survive the experience.

The Process

A firefly controls the beginning and end of the chemical reaction, and thus the start and stop of its light emission, by adding oxygen to the other chemicals needed to produce light. This happens in the insect's light organ. When oxygen is available, the light organ lights up, and when it is not available, the light goes out. Insects do not have lungs, but instead transport oxygen from outside the body to the interior cells within through a complex series of successively smaller tubes known as tracheoles. 

Why Fireflies  light up 

  Fireflies produce defensive steroids in their bodies that make them unpalatable to predators. Larvae use their glows as warning displays to communicate their distastefulness. As adults, many fireflies have flash patterns unique to their species and use them to identify other members of their species as well as to discriminate between members of the opposite sex. Several studies have shown that female fireflies choose mates depending upon specific male flash pattern characteristics. Higher male flash rates, as well as increased flash intensity, have been shown to be more attractive to females in two different firefly species.

Bioluminescence in Tabacco plant

Researchers have inserted the genes that encode the enzymes of the fungal bioluminescence pathway into tobacco plants. The experiments found that this was sufficient to turn caffeic acid into molecules of luciferin which are able to produce light.

Compiled by

Ms Naresh kuwar