Characterizing the Bioluminescence of the Humboldt Squid, Dosidicus gigas (d'Orbigny, 1835): One of the Largest Luminescent Animals in the World

Autor(es)

Galeazzo, Gabriela A. ^[1] ; Mirza, Jeremy D. ^{[1, 2]} ; Dorr, Felipe A. ^[3] ; Pinto, Ernani ^[3] ; Stevani, V, Cassius ; Lohrmann, Karin B. ^[4] ; Oliveira, Anderson G. ^[1]

Afiliação do(s) autor(es)

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Oceanog, Dept Oceanog Fis Quim & Geol, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[2] Univ Fed Sao Paulo, Inst Ciencias Ambientais Quim & Farmaceut, Dept Quim, Diadema, SP - Brazil

^[3] Univ Sao Paulo, Fac Ciencias Farmaceut, Dept Anal Clin & Toxicol, Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

^[4] Univ Catolica Norte, Fac Ciencias Mar, Ctr Innovac Acuicola Aquapacifico, Dept Biol Marina, Coquimbo - Chile

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: Photochemistry and Photobiology; v. 95, n. 5, p. 1179-1185, SEP 2019.
• Citações Web of Science: 0

Resumo

Bioluminescence is found in a number of cephalopods, such as Watasenia scintillans and Sthenoteuthis oualaniensis; however, many species remain poorly studied, including the Humboldt squid, Dosidicus gigas. This is the largest member of the Ommastrephidae family and grows to 2 m in length, making it one of the largest luminescent animals ever observed. Humboldt squid have small photophores all over their body that emit a brilliant blue luminescence. Using lyophilized photophores from squid caught off the coast of Chile, experiments were conducted to isolate the luciferin and protein involved in its bioluminescence. Methanolic extracts of the photophores were shown to contain dehydrocoelenterazine, and a membrane-bound photoprotein was shown to be involved. This photoprotein was purified using ion exchange chromatography, and SDS-PAGE showed a clean band of approximately 60 kDa. The excised band was analyzed by LC/MS, and the obtained data were compared against the transcriptome data of D. gigas, allowing us to find two gene products which displayed high coverage (>80%), the enzymes symplectin and vanin-2, which potentially associate with light emission process in this organism. Finally, the purified photoprotein was shown to emit a blue light (470 nm) in the presence of dehydrocoelenterazine. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 17/26279-2 - Estudo do processo de emissão de luz em Chaetopterus variopedatus e em novos sistemas bioluminescentes marinhos.
• Beneficiário: Anderson Garbuglio de Oliveira
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Regular
• Processo FAPESP: 14/18541-0 - Bioluminescência de Chaetopterus variopedatus: purificação da luciferase e funções ecológicas
• Beneficiário: Jeremy Darius Mirza
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Doutorado Direto
• Processo FAPESP: 17/22501-2 - Quimiexcitação eletrônica em sistemas biológicos: bioluminescência e 'foto'química no escuro
• Beneficiário: Etelvino José Henriques Bechara
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Temático
• Processo FAPESP: 17/07677-7 - Bioluminescência em Dosidicus gigas: clonagem e purificação de uma nova fotoproteína
• Beneficiário: Gabriela Amancio Galeazzo
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Iniciação Científica