Bioluminescence is nature ’s chemic torch — lighting the dark inner compass of remote cave , inscrutable body of water , and even moonless night sky with its eerily beautiful greenish glow . As far back as500 BCEancient sailor boy write aboutluminous and sparklingnight seas . The protein that have this raw lightness is calledluciferin , which can be regain in special bacterium , shipboard soldier tool and planktons , and even some alga and mushrooms . The light is the result of a chemic reaction between its enzyme form , luciferase , and some form of total energy ( O , sugar , etc . ) .
In 2008 three scientists won theNobel Prize in Chemistry(including Martin Chalfie , below ) for developinggreen fluorescent protein(GFP ) and genetically modifying it so that animals could be organise to produce their own . Since then , it has become widely used in medical and scientific inquiry . Here are seven way scientist are using the glowing genes of jellyfish and firefly in medical research .
JELLYFISH
You may harbor a healthy fear of the sting of an sea jelly , but they ’ve probably done more well for your health than damage . The glowing protein pull out from the quartz jelly ( Aqueorea victoria , seen above),has become an indispensable tool in cellular research and medication .
1. MANUFACTURING GFP IN A VARIETY OF ORGANISMS
In 1994 , neurobiologist Martin Chalfie insert the cistron into the cell ofE. colibacteria and the roundwormC. elegans . Under ultraviolet illumination igniter , the cells give out a green glow . The gene for GFP has since been introduce into the genetic code of many unlike mintage , which can then be made to make their own GFP . GFP and its first cousin proteins have been used to induce radiance in bacterium , protozoa , flora , nematodes , hoot , mammal , and Pisces , among others .
2. BIOENGINEERING MONKEYS FOR NEUROLOGY
Japanese scientists have beeninserting bioluminescent cistron into mammalsin the hopes of create animal example of neurological diseases , such as Parkinson ’s , for which rodent models are n’t sufficient .
Researchers throw in viruses carrying the gene for GFP into 91 marmoset monkey embryo . Of the 80 transgenic embryos transplanted into surrogate mothers , five bioluminescent babies were digest in the first round and another three thereafter , in 2009 .
3. MAKING CATS GLOW FOR FIV/HIV
Researchers at the Mayo Clinic and Yamaguchi University in Japan successfully injected alentivirus genetically engineered with GFP genesdirectly into unfertilized cat eggs in an attempt to track the spread of FIV , which propel in a similar vector to human HIV .
FIREFLIES
fire beetle luciferase
is considered a “ brighter ” form of bioluminescence , and it glows more yellow - light-green than its marine counterparts ( which are more patrician - green ) . It ’s often used in bioluminescent imagery ( BLI ) , which allow brain doctor to see single neurons , and in bioluminescence resonance free energy transfer ( BRET ) , to supervise protein - protein interaction in plants and mammalian cells .
4. REVEALING PLANT BIOLOGY
In the mid ' 80s , embolden by the cash advance in bioluminescent engineering , plant life scientist make aglowing tobacco plantwith lightning bug bioluminescence for research purposes . None of this tobacco was ever run through by people , but it was the origin of a Modern mode to study plant cell biology . Plant biologists are still using the technology today to study everything from theme organization toplants ’ circadian system .
5. IMPROVING THE DETECTION OF BLOOD CLOTS
In 2011 , scientists from Connecticut College used firefly luciferaseas an imagery agentto monitor patient treated with heparin , the origin thinner that is present to prevent or deal rakehell coagulum . The scientists mixed the firefly luciferase with a unique dye that coaxes the protein to give off nigh - infrared light . This new blended bioluminescent agentive role was able to help them detect tiny amounts of a stock protein , called ingredient Xa , and better monitor the effectiveness of heparin intervention .
6. TRACKING THE PATH OF HIV TRANSMISSION
A novel study in the journalCell Host & Microbeattempted to track the transmission of HIV between heterosexual male and females . Using a computer virus like to HIV called SIV ( simian immunodeficiency virus ) that feign primates , researchers genetically inserted the luciferase gene into the SIV cells and introduced that into the vaginas of uninfected rhesus macaques . The newly infected cells glowed , revealing that SIV does not participate by the cervix uteri , as previously think . This solution may lead to research revealing a similar pathway in human HIV .
7. ILLUMINATING THE CONNECTION BETWEEN PLACENTA AND FETUS
A late written report inNatureused bioluminescent project with firefly luciferase on pregnant mice to well understand the shipping functions of the blood - placenta barrier ( BPB ) , and how well this protect the foetus from means take by the mother . Their enquiry may also help us to understand the same function of the blood - brainiac roadblock , which prevents molecules from easily entering or exiting the wit ’s vascular system . Researchers are promising this can interpret to human studies in the skinny time to come .
