Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Bioluminescence is mostly produced by organisms that live in partial or total darkness.

Answer: true

Most bioluminescent organisms can be found in the deep ocean.

2. Which of the following can produce a bioluminescent reaction?

Answer: a firefly

The firefly is a member of the insect order, Coleoptera. These are beetles. Yes, the firefly is a beetle, not a true fly! This is because if you look at a firefly's back you will notice that they have a "T" on their exoskeleton. Also, a firefly's wings are not as triangular as a fly's wings. What this means is that a beetle's wings are more oval in shape and as long as the thorax.

A fly's wings are triangular in shape and the length is not as long as the thorax.

3. Bioluminescence is the ability of an organism to produce what?

Answer: light

Organisms produce bioluminescence through chemical reactions in a specific part of their anatomy.

4. Only animals can produce bioluminescence reactions.

Answer: false

There are some plants and bacteria that also produce bioluminescence reactions. There are a species of deep sea fish known as "flashlight" fish. The fish have pockets below their eyes in which they house colonies of bioluminescent bacteria. These two organisms live in a symbiotic relationship in which the bacteria receive shelter and food from the fish.

The fish receives the benefits from the glow put out by the bacteria which allows the fish to find a mate and food in the deep, dark ocean.

5. Bioluminescence provides what functions to the organisms that use it?

Answer: all of these

Glowworms found in the Caves of Waitomo in New Zealand spin long, sticky, glowing threads to capture other insects to "invite" them for dinner!

6. What is the chemical pair an organism uses to produce a bioluminescent reaction?

Answer: Luciferin and Luciferase

All bioluminescent organisms use these chemicals to produce a bioluminescent reaction. The structure of these molecules is what distinguishes one species from another. Fireflies are harvested by the organic biochemical industry for luciferin to use in scientific research.

Some may be put off by the chemicals' names but the "lucifer" in the names has no religious bearing. "Lucifer" is actually derived from Middle English and means "light bearer".

7. Bioluminescence mechanisms are not something that needs to be researched, because there is no benefit to mankind in their study.

Answer: false

Actually luciferin is used as a receptor gene to ensure that a gene has been inserted into a bacteria plasmid. Luciferin is also added to blood at blood banks to detect viability of the red blood cells. As the cells age, they break down and release adenosine triphosphate (ATP) into the blood.

The ATP then reacts with the added luciferin and the blood will glow in the dark. There is even evidence that the luciferin gene can be added to cancer cells. This then causes the cancer cells to produce their own light which triggers their own death!

8. Which compound below is a by-product of a bioluminescence reaction?

Answer: adenosine monophosphate (AMP)

The amount of ATP that is broken down into AMP is what determines the amount of light produced. Oxygen along with luciferin, Mg+2 ions, and ATP are requirements for a bioluminescence reaction to occur.
AMP + oxyluciferin + PPi (inorganic pyrophosphate) + H2O + light = the by-products. Potassium ferricyanide is a compound that can oxidize a chemiluminescent reaction when mixed with Luminol. You know, the stuff police use to determine if there is blood on surfaces. This reaction does produce luminescence but it is not a bioluminescent light.

9. The glowsticks children carry at Halloween and the glow-necklaces sold at festivals utilize a chemical reaction similar to the chemical reaction bioluminescent organisms utilize.

Answer: true

Why mess with a recipe handed down from Mother Nature? She created a highly efficient method of producing light.

10. Incandescent light (light from a lightbulb) is much more efficient than bioluminescent light. True or False?

Answer: false

Bioluminescent light is much more efficient as a light because most of the energy lost in the reaction is lost as photons (light) but in the incandescent light reaction almost 90% of the energy lost is as heat and only approximately 10% lost as light.