A putative chordate luciferase from a cosmopolitan tunicate indicates convergent bioluminescence evolution across phyla

Author(s):Show less -

Tessler, Michael ^{[1, 2]} ; Gaffney, Jean P. ^{[3, 4]} ; Oliveira, Anderson G. ^[5] ; Guarnaccia, Andrew ^{[3, 4]} ; Dobi, Krista C. ^{[3, 4]} ; Gujarati, Nehaben A. ^[3] ; Galbraith, Moira ^[6] ; Mirza, Jeremy D. ^{[7, 5]} ; Sparks, John S. ^{[1, 8]} ; Pieribone, Vincent A. ^[9] ; Wood, Robert J. ^[10] ; Gruber, David F. ^{[3, 1, 4]}

Affiliation

^[1] Amer Museum Nat Hist, Sackler Inst Comparat Genom, New York, NY 10024 - USA

^[2] St Francis Coll, Dept Biol, Brooklyn, NY 11201 - USA

^[3] CUNY, Dept Nat Sci, Baruch Coll, New York, NY 10010 - USA

^[4] CUNY, Grad Ctr, PhD Program Biol, New York, NY 10010 - USA

^[5] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Oceanog, Dept Oceanog Fis Quim & Geol, BR-05508120 Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[6] Inst Ocean Sci, 9860 West Saanich Rd, POB 6000, Sidney, BC V8L 4B2 - Canada

^[7] Univ Fed Sao Paulo, Inst Ciencias Ambientais Quim & Farmaceut, Dept Quim, Diadema, SP - Brazil

^[8] Amer Museum Nat Hist, Div Vertebrate Zool, Dept Ichthyol, New York, NY 10024 - USA

^[9] Yale Univ, Cellular & Mol Physiol, New Haven, CT - USA

^[10] Harvard Univ, Wyss Inst Biol Inspired Engn, Cambridge, MA 02138 - USA

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: SCIENTIFIC REPORTS; v. 10, n. 1 OCT 20 2020.
• Web of Science Citations: 1

Abstract

Pyrosomes are tunicates in the phylum Chordata, which also contains vertebrates. Their gigantic blooms play important ecological and biogeochemical roles in oceans. Pyrosoma, meaning ``fire-body{''}, derives from their brilliant bioluminescence. The biochemistry of this light production is unknown, but has been hypothesized to be bacterial in origin. We found that mixing coelenterazine-a eukaryote-specific luciferin-with Pyrosoma atlanticum homogenate produced light. To identify the bioluminescent machinery, we sequenced P. atlanticum transcriptomes and found a sequence match to a cnidarian luciferase (RLuc). We expressed this novel luciferase (PyroLuc) and, combined with coelenterazine, it produced light. A similar gene was recently predicted from a bioluminescent brittle star, indicating that RLuc-like luciferases may have evolved convergently from homologous dehalogenases across phyla (Cnidaria, Echinodermata, and Chordata). This report indicates that a widespread gene may be able to functionally converge, resulting in bioluminescence across animal phyla, and describes and characterizes the first putative chordate luciferase. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 17/26279-2 - Studies of Chaetopterus variopedatus bioluminescence and new marine luminous systems.
• Grantee: Anderson Garbuglio de Oliveira
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• FAPESP's process: 14/18541-0 - Chaetopterus variopedatus bioluminescence: luciferase purification and ecological roles
• Grantee: Jeremy Darius Mirza
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate (Direct)