9303842 Shimomura Bioluminescence is a phenomenon of chemiluminescence that occurs in the body or secretion of wide varieties of organisms. The energy required for light emission is supplied by the oxidation of a luciferin catalyzed by a specific luciferase, or through a reaction involving a photoprotein. The light-emitting reactions of different types of organisms are often significantly different, thus there are a number of different luminescence systems. The ultimate goal of this project is the complete biochemical understanding of bioluminescence and its roles. To achieve this goal, it is essential to identify the necessary key components and determine their chemical structures in various different types of bioluminescence system and also to elucidate the mechanism of the light-emitting reactions. The knowledge on bioluminescence presently available includes the chemical structures of 8 different luciferins and significant information on 19 different bioluminescence systems, of which the P.I. contributed to 5 of the luciferins and 12 of the bioluminescence systems, including the system of the photoprotein aequorin. Studies will be carried out on bioluminescence in fungi and euphausiid shrimp (krill). The mechanism of oxygenation in bioluminescence reactions will also be studied. %%% The long-range objective of this research is the complete biochemical understanding of bioluminescence, which encompasses the fundamental reaction mechanism of light emission and the roles of bioluminescence reactions in living organisms. In this research, it is of primary importance to determine the chemical nature of the key substances and to elucidate the mechanism of the reactions involved, in various different bioluminescence systems that occur in diverse types of organisms. ***
