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  • Title: An ancestral luciferase in the Malpighi tubules of a non-bioluminescent beetle!
    Author: Viviani VR, Prado RA, Arnoldi FC, Abdalla FC.
    Journal: Photochem Photobiol Sci; 2009 Jan; 8(1):57-61. PubMed ID: 19247530.
    Abstract:
    The evolutionary origin of beetle bioluminescence is enigmatic. Previously, weak luciferase activity was found in the non-bioluminescent larvae of Tenebrio molitor (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae), but the detailed tissular origin and identity of the luciferase-like enzyme remained unknown. Using a closely related giant mealworm, Zophobas morio, here we show that the luciferase-like enzyme is located in the Malpighi tubules. cDNA cloning of this luciferase like enzyme, showed that it is a short AMP-ligase with weak luciferase activity which diverged long ago from beetle luciferases. The results indicate that the potential for bioluminescence in AMP-ligases is very ancient and provide a first reasonable protoluciferase model to investigate the origin and evolution of beetle luciferases.
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