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(Reference retrieved automatically from Web of Science through information on FAPESP grant and its corresponding number as mentioned in the publication by the authors.)

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

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Author(s):
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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]
Total Authors: 12
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
Total Affiliations: 10
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)