Biology Compare And Contrast Luciferin And Dinoflagellates

b) Janine made this statement: “… if your brain doesn’t get carbs—well, glucose, anyway—you get

gluconeogenesis slow down in which release of glucose to the blood stream is also slowed down

• Mutations in the ALDOB gene reduce the function of the enzyme, impairing the ability to metabolize fructose.

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

Chemiluminescent reactions also generate electromagnetic radiation through light by releasing energy from the chemical reaction. This reaction involves the fragmentation of the O-O bond. Peroxides are common in chemiluminescent reactions because the bond between the O-O is relatively weak and can be easily cleaved, releasing a large amount of energy.

In the Z-pathway, photosystem II, pigments are excited by four photon in the antenna complex (phycobilisome), which passes the excitation along to the next pigment in the complex until it reaches the reaction center (chlorophyll a). The reaction center then uses the energy from the four photons to split two water molecules in an oxidation reaction, generating four electrons, four hydrogen ions and an oxygen molecule.

There are thousands of chemical reactions that occur in an organism that make life possible. Most of these chemical reactions occur too slowly on their own. Enzymes are protein catalysts that speed up chemical reactions in a cell. Catalysts are not changed by the reactions they control, and are not used up during the reaction. Enzymes therefore, can be used over and over again. Enzymes are large complex proteins made by the cell and allow chemical reactions to take place at the temperature of the cell. These catalysts are needed in only very small amounts because a single enzyme molecule can complete the same reaction thousands of times in one minute.

In order to clone and express the luciferase gene in E.Coli, first, isolation of the chromosomal DNA from V. Fischeri with phenol extraction, along with purification, is necessary before amplification through Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) [1].

Plants utilize chloroplasts to perform photosynthesis to produce glucose. Photosynthesis consists of two stages called light reactions and the Calvin cycle. Within the chloroplast, the thylakoid is the site of light reactions. The thylakoid is capable of absorbing light energy and transforming it to chemical energy in the form of ATP and NADPH which will later be used in the Calvin cycle. Pigments located inside the thylakoid allows for the absorption of visible light (Campbell, pg. 191). There are three significant types of pigments in chloroplast: chlorophyll a (main light-absorbing pigment) , chlorophyll b (accessory pigment), and carotenoids (group of accessory pigments).

In Cnidarians an enzyme is needed, either the apoprotein of a photoprotein or a luciferase, to catalyze the oxidation of luciferin. This type of luminescence is fundamentally different from fluorescence as the organism actually makes light energy in bioluminescence instead of absorbing an external light source and reemitting it (Haddock et al. 2005). Bioluminescence in scyphozoans, hydrozoans and anthozoans is dependent on the luciferin coelenterazine exclusively (Haddock 2006). The families are distinct in the catalyst they use as photoproteins are only used by hydrozoans. Scyphozoans and anthozoans both use luciferase but not the same ones in their bioluminescence reactions (Haddock et al. 2010). Some Cnidarians also have a secondary light emitting complex called Green Fluorescent Protein

Although essentially a broad term, the principal technology in optogenetics incorporates two key functions: light-responsive, control tools that can convey a function in the cell and customizable elements for delivering light to cells of interest; personalizing the control tools for use in the cell of interest; and acquiring analyzable data (Boyden, et. al., 2005). Optogenetically controlled systems had their beginnings in neuroscience, where the need to control a certain type of cell without altering others in the brain was the ultimate goal. This was the underlying concern with classic techniques used to obtain neuronal data; electrical stimulation could not be used for the targeting of individual cells, and the use of drugs to alter neuronal functioning is a slow, imprecise method that is potentially toxic to the cells. Fortunately, optical manipulation of neural activity was accomplished through a microbial opsin gene, a light-sensitive protein that allowed the neurons to react to specific wavelengths of light (Boyden, et. al., 2005). This “light-switching” was capable of being tested in freely motile organisms with no harm inflicted to the organism. Success with this particular group of proteins directed the research of optogenetics to the engineering of several variable

The human body consists of many different systems which work together for one ultimate purpose; to keep the body functioning properly. For years scientists have studied the components of the body, but sometimes research only leads to more questions. One of those questions being, What if people were born without adrenal glands? With the different mutations discovered in the human genes throughout the recent years, this could be possible. In fact, if this occurred, the body would not be able to regulate metabolism or maintain an internal balance between salt and water. This would also hinder a woman’s ability to become pregnant.

1) Bioluminescence/ fluorescence: Bioluminescence can be used to describe an organism that glows or releases a flash of light, particularly when disturbed. Fluorescence on the other hand can be defined as a process where light energy excites electrons to a higher energy state and that emits a photon when returning to ground state excitation. A major difference between the two is that bioluminescence is chemical process that involves enzymes and the breakdown of substrates that result results in light as a product; whereas fluorescence is physical process that relies on changes in electron excitation. Organisms such as certain algae, bacteria, fungi, squid, insects and fish use bioluminescence for several different purposes, such as to scare off predators or to lure prey (anglerfish), to attract mates (lanterneyes fish), and communication. Fluorescence serves several purposes as well, such as in chromosomal fluorescent staining techniques or gemology.

The bacteria Vibrio fischeri are found in most marine environments but only in levels almost non-detectable. However the interest with these marine bacteria did not come from the free-living low abundant ocean population, but from the unique relationship it has with the Hawaiian bobtail squid (Eurrymna scolopes). Bioluminescent strains of the V. Fischeri form symbiotic relationships with these marine squids. The association between these two species has interested scientists for over 25 years related to the understanding of host-symbiont relationships, bioluminescence and quorum sensing (Ruby 2008). V. Fischeri is also used as a model species, which is the extensive study of a species that provides insight into the mechanisms of other species

I have completed bachelor studies in biotechnology from University of Peshawar Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pakistan. During bachelor studies, I have studied core subjects in biotechnology however, the subject which completely drew my attention was biochemistry. What electrifies me about biochemistry is that it is multidisciplinary field which bring mathematical, statistical and computing approaches to solve biological problems by using DNA and amino acid sequences and related information, therefore, many other fields like molecular medicines, agriculture and microbiology can get benefits from bioinformatics, which shows the broad range of this field. So I want to be a part of this field which is creating new approaches towards the biological science