Issue 1, 2009

An ancestral luciferase in the Malpighi tubules of a non-bioluminescent beetle!

Abstract

The evolutionary origin of beetle bioluminescence is enigmatic. Previously, weak luciferase activity was found in the non-bioluminescent larvae of Tenebrio molitor (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae), but the detailed tissular origin and identity of the luciferase-like enzyme remained unknown. Using a closely related giant mealworm, Zophobas morio, here we show that the luciferase-like enzyme is located in the Malpighi tubules. cDNA cloning of this luciferase like enzyme, showed that it is a short AMP-ligase with weak luciferase activity which diverged long ago from beetle luciferases. The results indicate that the potential for bioluminescence in AMP-ligases is very ancient and provide a first reasonable protoluciferase model to investigate the origin and evolution of beetle luciferases.

Graphical abstract: An ancestral luciferase in the Malpighi tubules of a non-bioluminescent beetle!

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
01 Oct 2008
Accepted
20 Nov 2008
First published
09 Dec 2008

Photochem. Photobiol. Sci., 2009,8, 57-61

An ancestral luciferase in the Malpighi tubules of a non-bioluminescent beetle!

V. R. Viviani, R. A. Prado, F. C. G. Arnoldi and F. C. Abdalla, Photochem. Photobiol. Sci., 2009, 8, 57 DOI: 10.1039/B817114A

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