Bioluminescence in Dosidicus gigas: cloning and purification of a new photoprotein

• Grant number: 17/07677-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: August 01, 2017
• End date: July 31, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Biophysics - Radiology and Photobiology
• Principal Investigator: Anderson Garbuglio de Oliveira
• Grantee: Gabriela Amancio Galeazzo
• Host Institution: Instituto Oceanográfico (IO). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Bioluminescence is the emission of visible light by living organisms and is typically produced by the oxidation of a light emitting molecule - generically called luciferin - in conjunction with a catalyzing enzyme, luciferase. Additionally, in some bioluminescent organisms, this process involves the binding of the luciferin to a "photoprotein" in order for light to be produced. A photoprotein can be considered an extraordinarily stable enzyme-substrate complex. A remarkably diverse array of marine animals are able to produce their own light, and bioluminescence is said to be found in the majority of deep sea macrofauna. Although many marine bioluminescent systems have been studied in the last decades, there are still numerous luminous organisms that remain poorly investigated. The squid Dosidicus gigas is one of these, whose photoprotein purification and cloning may contribute to the understanding of several biological/evolutionary aspects in various biological systems and the development of new analytical tools. In this context, according to preliminary data obtained in our lab, it seems the "Humboldt squid" D. gigas may possesses a new photoprotein loosely related to other luminous squids. Thus, this project comprises of the isolation and cloning of the D. gigas photoprotein, along with mechanistic studies of its bioluminescence. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

GALEAZZO, GABRIELA A.; MIRZA, JEREMY D.; DORR, FELIPE A.; PINTO, ERNANI; STEVANI, V, CASSIUS; LOHRMANN, KARIN B.; OLIVEIRA, ANDERSON G.. Characterizing the Bioluminescence of the Humboldt Squid, Dosidicus gigas (d'Orbigny, 1835): One of the Largest Luminescent Animals in the World. Photochemistry and Photobiology, v. 95, n. 5, p. 1179-1185, SEP 2019. (17/26279-2, 14/18541-0, 17/22501-2, 17/07677-7)