MECHANISMS AND EVOLUTIONARY ORIGIN OF BACTERIAL BIOLUMINESCENCE
Since the discussion of bioluminescence presented by Charles Darwin in his description of the theory of evolution, the origin of bioluminescence remains obscure. Here we discuss the data on the mechanisms of bioluminescence obtained in course of structural and functional analysis of lux-operons and respective luciferase enzymes encoded by genomes of aquatic Vibrio, Aliivibrio and Photobacterium and non-aquatic Photorhabdus genera. The fundamental characteristics of luciferase and corresponding catalyzed reactions, i.e. stages of FMNH<sub>2</sub> and tetradecanal oxidation, structure of the luciferase, folding and refolding of luciferase macromolecule are described. We also discuss the origin of bacterial bioluminescence and its role in the ecology of marine fauna, with an emphasis on the detoxing reactive oxygen species (ROS), DNA repair and so-called “bait hypothesis.”