The goal of this project is to undertand this biochemical mechanism and biological function of bioluminescence, that is, to delineate the mechanism involved in the conversion of chemical energy into light energy and to elucidate the roles of luminescence in the physiology of the organisms. To achieve this goal it is essential to determine the chemical structures of the key substances involved in the bioluminescent reactions that occur in diverse types of organisms. The specific aims of the project in the next three years are: (1) to investigate fungal luminescence, including the determination of the structure of fungal luciferin, using Panellus stipticus, (2) to complete current studies in progress, including structural work on the fluorescent substance F of euphasolids, the chromophores of the photoproteins of the millipede Luminodesmus and the brittle star Ophiopsilla, and the green fluorescent protein of Aequorea.
