Fluorescent Protein coding regions of species of the Cnidarian phyla, will be subjected to an evolutionary analysis focusing on gene duplication, expansion and divergence. This will allow the evolutionary processes that led to the development of these gene become clear. Changes due to mutations and other factors which occurr in DNA sequences cause variation of genes over evolutionary time. Characterisation of fluorescent proteins across sister phyla will allow accurate conclusion of the origins of such proteins. It is suspected that gene expansion across evolutionary time resulted in the diversification of the fluorescent genes to exhibit a vast array of colours seen across today’s Cnidaria. One phyla of particular interest in the Cnidarians, with their vast colour array of their fluorophores. The results were inconclusive and the hypothesis was not answered.
Key Words: Cnidarian, Zoanthid, green fluorescent protein, evolution, gene expansion
Introduction
The first thing to note is luminescence is a generalized term describing the production of visual light with a lack of radiant heat termed “cold light”. Three main categories describe the types of luminescence (please refer to Table 1); biological, chemical and physical. Bioluminescence is another broad term defining any form of luminescence produced by organisms, predominantly seen in marine species. This phenomena is seen in some species of cephalopods of the Tesuthida (squid) order and many of the members of the
Moon Jellyfish are in the “Animalia Kingdom, Phylum Cnidarian, Class Scyphozoan, Order Semaeostomeae, Family Ulmaridae, and Genus Aurelia” ( Myers, 2016 ; Espinosa, ; 2016 ; Parr, 2016 ; Jones, 2026 ; Hammond, 2016 ; Dewey, 2016). The morphological description of Cnidarians are corals, sea anemones, jellyfish and hydroids. These cnidarians form a diverse phylum that contains ~9000 species, which live in aquatic (predominantly marine) environments. The phylum-defining trait of Cnidaria is the stinging cell, the nematocyte an extrusive organelle used for predation, adhesion and defense (Holstein, 1981; Lengfeld et al., 2009; Tardent and Holstein, 1982) (Steele and Technau; 2011). Also, this phylum, Cnidarians, are divided into two groups, “Anthozoa (sea anemones, corals and sea pens), which live as
Fireflies are able to light up because inside their body, there there is a chemical reaction produced. The light production is also known as bioluminescence. The best known example of bioluminescence is the production of light by fireflies. In presence of luciferase, adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and the chemical luciferin in the presence produce light when oxygen combines with calcium. A firefly’s light is cold light and causes less energy is lost as heat which makes it special than light bulb. In a light bulb, a lot of heat in addition to
When faced with a crisis of identity, we often stick with those who care in the best position to support us. In Neil Smith’s “Green Fluorescent Protein,” When Max was fighting with Ruby-Doo; he wants to stay with his mom for comfort. GFP is a metaphor for Max’s realization that he is queer. Max is ensuring of his feelings towards Ruby-doo. “In Pop’s arms, the white guinea pig turns a brilliant green…… It’s very weird and really scary. [it’s] kind of beautiful in an unexpected way” [50]. He tried to say same sex love can be weird and scary, but it’s love and love it a beautiful thing. Family plays an important role in max’s life. This is what for example Max’s said “I want to say, don’t go. Not that I’m afraid her date
coli, to express a gene that is normally causes jellyfish to be fluorescent. The plasmid that contains the gene for the green fluorescent protein (GFP) is called pGLO. The type of genetic transformation we used in the experiment was heat shock which made the membrane of E. coli fluid and allowed the pGLO to enter the cell. In order for the E. coli to express the GFP gene there needs to be arabinose presence, which is a sugar that acts as an on switch for the pGLO. Using this information, we predicted the bacteria E. coli will grow and express the GFP on the plate that consists of +pGLO, ampicillin, arabinose, and LB broth (Luria Bertani broth).
In this experiment, luminol was synthesized in the lab and used to demonstrate the result of the chemiluminescence reaction.
Light can be produced in many different ways, including incandescence, phosphorescence, and fluorescence (Gunderman 1). Incandescence is when heat makes an object release light, like the filament in a light bulb. Phosphorescence is when a material absorbs energy and then releases it slowly over time, like glow-in-the-dark toys. Fluorescence is when a material absorbs energy and releases it quickly as light (Gunderman 1). Fluorescence is the process used in glow sticks (Science Fair Projects 1). The fluorescent dye in this experiment’s glow sticks released yellow light. Different color glow sticks are made with different dyes (Harris 2).
Chlorophyll-a is a specific form of Chlorophyll, used in oxygenic photosynthesis. Measurement and determination of this parameter are the basic analysis to evaluate the characteristics of algae blooms in many research works in the world. Unfortunately, Chlorophyll-a represents just the whole quantity of photosynthesis pigment released from all algae and micro-plants present in water, hence it cannot help to distinguish cyanobacteria existence among all living micro plants and algae in the waterbody. To be able to define and confirm the existence of Cyanobacteria species in the composition of aquatic microalgae, another pigment form, Phycocyanin, is used. Phycocyanin is the pigment, which differs cyanobacteria species from another planktonic species, and could give us a real picture of quantity of cyanobacterial genera in the water. Phycocyanin is actually a pigment-protein complex from the light-harvesting phycobiliprotein family, along with allophycocyanin and phycoerythrin. It is considered as an accessory pigment to
Furthermore, there are aquatic organisms such as the mantis shrimp that has an estimated 12-16 photoreceptor cells. In the presence of the 750 nm wavelength of light that humans cone cells aren’t sensitive enough to signal an observation, the mantis shrimps red cone cells are sensitive to this wavelength of light and can absorb the wavelengths to send a response to their brain. In the presence of UV-B (290-320 nm) wavelengths, humans blue cone cells aren’t sensitive enough or able to absorb enough of the light to signal a response to their brain. Whereas the Mantis Shrimp has various photo receptors that are sensitive to these
This occurs when a product is generated in the excited state and then relaxes to the ground state in which a photon is emitted. When the electron relaxes, energy is released as a vibration and heat. Electrons in the same orbital are paired and must have opposite spins. There are two types of electronic states: singlet and triplet. In a singlet state, the spins of all of the electrons are paired while in a triplet state, the spins are flipped or unpaired. Phosphorescence and fluorescence occurs when electrons relax from the singlet and triplet states and emit visible light. Fluorescence emits light at a longer wavelength than it is absorbed. This process is rather fast as the light appears to be a blue-green color. Phosphorescence is very similar to that of fluorescence. However, in phosphorescence there is longer interval between the excited and ground states since the flipped spin has to flip back. This flipping of spins requires energy which leads to a less energetic triplet state compared to that of the singlet state. The longer interval in phosphorescence also sometimes results in a red color and a longer excited state period. Chemiluminescence also has other usages such as its ability to identify when blood is present. The luminol turns blue-green when the alkaline solution is exposed to
Chemiluminescence refers to luminol reacting with an oxidizing reagent such as hydrogen peroxide and any hydroxide-based base, resulting in blue light emission. Light is emitted because reactants go from an excited state to a lower energy level. Chemiluminescence is the result of light being emitted without heat due to a chemical reaction. Luminol’s chemiluminescent properties are commonly used for crime scene investigation. At crimes scenes, investigators spray luminol and a base to find blood traces.
In this experiment, luminol, a compound that produces chemiluminescence when oxidized in the presence of a base by an oxidizing agent like hydrogen peroxide, was synthesized, and its presence was confirmed by observing chemiluminescence. Cheminluminescence is the process by which a photon is released when a reaction occurs, producing light. A similar process, bioluminescence is observed in nature when fireflies and jellyfish produce light. Chemiluminescence is identical to bioluminescence, except for the fact that bioluminescence involves an enzyme, whereas chemiluminescence uses a chemical catalyst.
Animal coloration is due to pigmentation found in the skin, feathers, and fur. Pigments are chemical substances produced in animals, which are accountable for coloration in living things. Pigments absorb some wavelengths of light and reflect specific wavelengths of visible light. The visible light that is reflected is what is seen (Biological Pigments 2010). Chromatophores are also important. These are pigment containing cells that are in the deep layers of the skin in animals. Chromatophores can be identified as melanophores (black), erythrophores (red), xanthophores (yellow), or lecophores (white) based on the color of the pigments. The dispersal of these cells and the pigments and their orientation determine the color
This experiment is about glow sticks so here are some facts. Let’s talk about glowsticks and everything about them. Light is generated from a chemical reaction which is called chemiluminescence. Typical glow sticks use a hydrogen peroxide solution, a solution of phenyl oxalate ester, and a fluorescent dye. Glow sticks are plastic tubes containing glass vials that emit light when they are cracked/ bent. They have a glow time from 6-12 hours. It also depends on the size of the glow stick and other stuff like that. Glow sticks are also waterproof if you did not already know that. Energy created by the chemical reaction is what creates the color. If glow sticks did not have fluorescent dye there would be no color. Glow sticks might look like they
Both the firefly and the firefly squid create light with a chemical called luciferin. When it combines with other chemicals, luciferin produces a light without heat. The structure of luciferin molecules in an animal’s body determines the color of the light – it
REFERENCES: 1. Campbell, Neil A., and Jane B. Reece. Biology. 6th ed. San Francisco: Benjamin Cummings, 2002.