An ancestral luciferase in the Malpighi tubules of a non-bioluminescent beetle!

Photochem Photobiol Sci

V. R. Viviani, R. A. Prado, F. C. Arnoldi, F. C. Abdalla

The evolutionary origin of beetle bioluminescence is enigmatic. Previously, weak luciferase activity was found in the non-bioluminescent larvae of Tenebrio molitor (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae), but the detailed tissular origin and identity of the luciferase-like enzyme remained unknown. Using a closely related giant mealworm, Zophobas morio, here we show that the luciferase-like enzyme is located in the Malpighi tubules. cDNA cloning of this luciferase like enzyme, showed that it is a short AMP-ligase with weak luciferase activity which diverged long ago from beetle luciferases. The results indicate that the potential for bioluminescence in AMP-ligases is very ancient and provide a first reasonable protoluciferase model to investigate the origin and evolution of beetle luciferases.

2009
Photochem Photobiol Sci
Volume: 8. Issue: 1. Pages: 57-61.

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