Identification of a functional luciferase gene in the non-luminous diurnal firefly, Lucidina biplagiata

Abstract

We isolated a luciferase gene (LbLuc) from the non-luminous diurnal firefly, Lucidina biplagiata, with high similarity to that from the nocturnal firefly, Photinus pyralis. The recombinant LbLuc showed luminescence activity comparable to that of the luciferases from P. pyralis and Luciola cruciata. To understand the non-luminosity of L. biplagiata, we determined the amount of luciferase in the adult specimen using the luciferin-luciferase reaction and found that the content of luciferase in L. biplagiata was estimated to be only 0.1% of that in L. cruciata. As previously reported, the content of luciferin in L. biplagiata was less than 0.1% of that in L. cruciata. Thus, the non-luminosity of L. biplagiata might be explained by low levels of both luciferase and luciferin.