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Science 13 June 1980:
Vol. 208. no. 4449, pp. 1271 - 1273
DOI: 10.1126/science.208.4449.1271
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Articles

Bacterial Origin of Luminescence in Marine Animals

GARY LEISMAN 1, DANIEL H. COHN 1, and KENNETH H. NEALSON 1

1 Marine Biology Research Division, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California 92093

Bacterial luciferase activity was detected in light organ extracts of squids, fishes, and pyrosomes, suggesting that these systems are derived from bacteria-animal symbioses. In none of these cases was it possible to culture luminouis bacteria. Analyses of the decay kinetics show that the luciferases from the squid, ceratioid, and pyrosome light organs are all similar to bacterial luciferases from the genus Photobacterium, while those from the anomalopid light organs are different.

Submitted on October 29, 1979
Revised on January 9, 1980


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