Abstract
This chapter discusses the measurement of light emitted by living cells. It presents methods for detection of singlet oxygen in biological reactions by use of chemiluminescent probes. The chapter also presents experimental evidence for the optimization model of firefly fluorescence. The spectral optimization model provides a framework that begins to account for the range of colors of firefly bioluminescence (BL) in North American species. By relating optimization with photic niches occupied by the various species, it is possible to correlate behavioral activity during the photoperiod, that is, twilight versus night activity, with adaptations in visual spectral sensitivity and color of BL. The model shows that a narrowing of visual spectral sensitivity via a screening pigment pathway in order to discriminate against green ambient light is more efficient than a shift in visual spectral sensitivity via a change in the opsin photoprotein.
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