Meeting Abstract
Many organisms acquire, sequester, and use necessary biological molecules from their diet that they cannot produce themselves. Numerous bioluminescent organisms rely on dietary acquisition of substrates for bioluminescence, called luciferins. Luciferins are highly unstable molecules that are oxidized by enzymes called luciferases to produce light. Due to the instability of luciferins, bioluminescent organisms such as fireflies, the sea pansy, and ostracod crustaceans have evolved a luciferin storage mechanism to preserve the substrate until it is needed. We hypothesize that organisms that share luciferin via dietary acquisition have the same luciferin storage form. Porichthys, commonly known as midshipman fishes, produce their own luciferase but obtain luciferin from their diet of bioluminescent ostracods. A recent study on ostracods identified a more stable sulfated luciferin derivative that can be enzymatically converted into the active form of luciferin. Although previous work identified luciferin in its active form in various midshipman fish tissues and blood, the presence of luciferin derivatives has not yet been thoroughly investigated. Here, we use biochemical assays and liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry to detect luciferin derivatives in midshipman fish tissues and eggs. Preliminary data indicate that, in midshipman fish eggs, a derivative of luciferin can be chemically converted into an active form of luciferin. Identifying luciferin derivatives in midshipman fish sets the stage for future studies on the convergent evolution of luciferin storage systems in these phylogenetically distant organisms.
