title: Selected Least Studied but not Forgotten Bioluminescent Systems.
abstract: Bioluminescence is a form of chemiluminescence generated by luminous organisms. Luminous taxa have currently been reported from about 800 genera and probably over 10 000 species in the world. On the other hand, their bioluminescent systems, including chemical structures of luciferins/chromophores and the genes encoding luciferases/photoproteins, have been elucidated from only a few taxonomic groups, for example beetles, bacteria, dinoflagellates, ostracods and some cnidarians. Research efforts to understand unknown bioluminescence systems are being conducted around the world, and recently, for example, novel luciferin structures of luminous enchytraeid potworms and fungi were identified by the authors. In this study, we review the current status and perspectives, in the context of postgenomic era, of most likely novel but less-revealed bioluminescence systems of ten selected organisms: earthworm, parchment tubeworm, fireworm, scaleworm, limpet, millipede, brittle star, acorn worms, tunicate and shark, which indeed are the next focus of our international collaboration.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Biology, Chubu University, Kasugai, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuichi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Oba
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Química Fundamental, Instituto de Química, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Cassius V
authors.initials: CV
authors.lastname: Stevani
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Oceanografia Física, Química e Geológica, Instituto Oceanográfico, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Anderson G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Oliveira
authors.affiliation: Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia.|Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University, Moscow, Russia.
authors.forename: Aleksandra S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Tsarkova
authors.affiliation: Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia.|Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University, Moscow, Russia.
authors.forename: Tatiana V
authors.initials: TV
authors.lastname: Chepurnykh
authors.affiliation: Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia.|Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University, Moscow, Russia.
authors.forename: Ilia V
authors.initials: IV
authors.lastname: Yampolsky
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D044822:Biodiversity; D049449:Luminescence; D008164:Luminescent Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D011487:Protein Conformation
chemical_list: D008164:Luminescent Proteins