The Spectral Distribution of Firefly Light. II
Open Access
- 1 July 1967
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Rockefeller University Press in The Journal of general physiology
- Vol. 50 (6) , 1681-1692
- https://doi.org/10.1085/jgp.50.6.1681
Abstract
The in vivo peak emission wavelengths of bioluminescence are reported for 15 species of American fireflies. A spectrophotometric study of the dorsal light organs of 155 specimens of the Jamaican firefly Pyrophorus plagiophthalamus showed three distinct color distributions with peak emission wavelengths at 550.1 ± 1.5 mµ, 556.8 ± 1.4 mµ, and 562.4 ± 1.0 mµ. Similar spectral measurements of 35 ventral light organs of the same insects gave peak emission wavelengths ranging from 547 through 594 mµ. This is a wider distribution than the total range of all 34 species of firefly studied to date. There was no obvious correlation between the colors of the ventral and dorsal light organs. It appears that P. plagiophthalamus is a special case in which the luciferase enzyme is not only different among members of the same species, but it may be different for the dorsal and ventral light organs in a single individual. A minimum of six different luciferase molecules for P. plagiophthalamus ventral light organs is proposed. The statistical precision in making these spectrophotometric measurements is discussed.This publication has 5 references indexed in Scilit:
- The Spectral Distribution of Firefly LightThe Journal of general physiology, 1964
- FLASH PATTERNS IN JAMAICAN FIREFLIESThe Biological Bulletin, 1964
- THE COLORS OF FIREFLY BIOLUMINESCENCE: ENZYME CONFIGURATION AND SPECIES SPECIFICITYProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 1964
- Spectral emission and quantum yield of firefly bioluminescenceArchives of Biochemistry and Biophysics, 1960