Report on bio-luminous plant.
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Bioluminescence has been “invented” dozens of times in evolutionary history and serves a variety of purposes, from attracting mates and luring prey to warding off predators. Its existence in fungi – a rare if not unique case of bioluminescence outside the animal and microbial worlds – has posed more of a mystery. But scientists may now be able to explain not only why certain mushrooms glow in the dark, but how – and in doing so they could be nearer to creating glowing trees as a novel form of street lighting.
Naturalists in the early 19th century identified fungal growth as the source of the glow from wooden support beams used to shore up mines. Many fungi and mushrooms are now known to glow in the dark, and explanations for why they do it range from it being a useless by-product of metabolism to a sophisticated anti-predator adaptation.
The exact method of how mushrooms can generate a spooky glow remained a mystery, in contrast to the elucidation of the light-emitting pigments used by the many other forms of life that can generate bioluminescence.
The mechanism of fungal bioluminescence suggests the formation of luciferin from a certain precursor. “It was established that the luciferin precursor is also present in non-luminous forest fungi, and more importantly it is about 100 times more abundant than in the biomass of luminous species. Therefore, it made sense to extract the precursor from non-luminous fungi.
FIREFLY SQUIDE
Some species of squid use bioluminescent bacteria to provide counter-illumination to the underside of their bodies, so they are more camouflaged against the light background of the sea surface when viewed from below. It makes the squid more difficult to see by predators looking for the molluscs from deeper depths.
Naturalists in the early 19th century identified fungal growth as the source of the glow from wooden support beams used to shore up mines. Many fungi and mushrooms are now known to glow in the dark, and explanations for why they do it range from it being a useless by-product of metabolism to a sophisticated anti-predator adaptation.
The exact method of how mushrooms can generate a spooky glow remained a mystery, in contrast to the elucidation of the light-emitting pigments used by the many other forms of life that can generate bioluminescence.
The mechanism of fungal bioluminescence suggests the formation of luciferin from a certain precursor. “It was established that the luciferin precursor is also present in non-luminous forest fungi, and more importantly it is about 100 times more abundant than in the biomass of luminous species. Therefore, it made sense to extract the precursor from non-luminous fungi.
FIREFLY SQUIDE
Some species of squid use bioluminescent bacteria to provide counter-illumination to the underside of their bodies, so they are more camouflaged against the light background of the sea surface when viewed from below. It makes the squid more difficult to see by predators looking for the molluscs from deeper depths.
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