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Fluorescent Protein Coding Regions Of Species Of The Cnidarian Phyla

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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

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