Firefly genomes illuminate parallel origins of bioluminescence in beetles
Fireflies and their luminous courtships have inspired centuries of scientific study. Today firefly luciferase is widely used in biotechnology, but the evolutionary origin of bioluminescence within beetles remains unclear. To shed light on this long-standing question, we sequenced the genomes of two...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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eLife Sciences Publications Ltd
2018-10-01
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| Series: | eLife |
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| Online Access: | https://elifesciences.org/articles/36495 |
| _version_ | 1797692675906863104 |
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| author | Timothy R Fallon Sarah E Lower Ching-Ho Chang Manabu Bessho-Uehara Gavin J Martin Adam J Bewick Megan Behringer Humberto J Debat Isaac Wong John C Day Anton Suvorov Christian J Silva Kathrin F Stanger-Hall David W Hall Robert J Schmitz David R Nelson Sara M Lewis Shuji Shigenobu Seth M Bybee Amanda M Larracuente Yuichi Oba Jing-Ke Weng |
| author_facet | Timothy R Fallon Sarah E Lower Ching-Ho Chang Manabu Bessho-Uehara Gavin J Martin Adam J Bewick Megan Behringer Humberto J Debat Isaac Wong John C Day Anton Suvorov Christian J Silva Kathrin F Stanger-Hall David W Hall Robert J Schmitz David R Nelson Sara M Lewis Shuji Shigenobu Seth M Bybee Amanda M Larracuente Yuichi Oba Jing-Ke Weng |
| author_sort | Timothy R Fallon |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Fireflies and their luminous courtships have inspired centuries of scientific study. Today firefly luciferase is widely used in biotechnology, but the evolutionary origin of bioluminescence within beetles remains unclear. To shed light on this long-standing question, we sequenced the genomes of two firefly species that diverged over 100 million-years-ago: the North American Photinus pyralis and Japanese Aquatica lateralis. To compare bioluminescent origins, we also sequenced the genome of a related click beetle, the Caribbean Ignelater luminosus, with bioluminescent biochemistry near-identical to fireflies, but anatomically unique light organs, suggesting the intriguing hypothesis of parallel gains of bioluminescence. Our analyses support independent gains of bioluminescence in fireflies and click beetles, and provide new insights into the genes, chemical defenses, and symbionts that evolved alongside their luminous lifestyle. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T02:32:02Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8d5df25528e64fff99bdeaf0165f6fff |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2050-084X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T02:32:02Z |
| publishDate | 2018-10-01 |
| publisher | eLife Sciences Publications Ltd |
| record_format | Article |
| series | eLife |
| spelling | doaj.art-8d5df25528e64fff99bdeaf0165f6fff2023-09-05T07:43:42ZengeLife Sciences Publications LtdeLife2050-084X2018-10-01710.7554/eLife.36495Firefly genomes illuminate parallel origins of bioluminescence in beetlesTimothy R Fallon0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3048-7679Sarah E Lower1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0889-3344Ching-Ho Chang2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9361-1190Manabu Bessho-Uehara3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7388-464XGavin J Martin4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8989-2601Adam J Bewick5Megan Behringer6Humberto J Debat7https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3056-3739Isaac Wong8https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4877-5748John C Day9https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5483-4487Anton Suvorov10https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3898-9195Christian J Silva11https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9803-5249Kathrin F Stanger-Hall12David W Hall13https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7708-6656Robert J Schmitz14https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7538-6663David R Nelson15https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0583-5421Sara M Lewis16Shuji Shigenobu17https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4640-2323Seth M Bybee18Amanda M Larracuente19https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5944-5686Yuichi Oba20https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2108-4947Jing-Ke Weng21https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3059-0075Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Cambridge, United States; Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, United StatesDepartment of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Cornell University, Ithaca, United States; Department of Biology, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, United StatesDepartment of Biology, University of Rochester, Rochester, United StatesDepartment of Environmental Biology, Chubu University, Kasugai, Japan; Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan; Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, Moss Landing, United StatesDepartment of Biology, Brigham Young University, Provo, United StatesDepartment of Genetics, University of Georgia, Athens, United StatesBiodesign Center for Mechanisms of Evolution, Arizona State University, Tempe, United StatesCenter of Agronomic Research, National Institute of Agricultural Technology, Córdoba, ArgentinaDepartment of Biology, University of Rochester, Rochester, United StatesCentre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH), Wallingford, United KingdomDepartment of Biology, Brigham Young University, Provo, United StatesDepartment of Biology, University of Rochester, Rochester, United States; Department of Plant Sciences, University of California Davis, Davis, United StatesDepartment of Plant Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, United StatesDepartment of Genetics, University of Georgia, Athens, United StatesDepartment of Genetics, University of Georgia, Athens, United StatesDepartment of Microbiology Immunology and Biochemistry, University of Tennessee HSC, Memphis, United StatesDepartment of Biology, Tufts University, Medford, United StatesNIBB Core Research Facilities, National Institute for Basic Biology, Okazaki, JapanDepartment of Biology, Brigham Young University, Provo, United StatesDepartment of Biology, University of Rochester, Rochester, United StatesDepartment of Environmental Biology, Chubu University, Kasugai, JapanWhitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Cambridge, United States; Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, United StatesFireflies and their luminous courtships have inspired centuries of scientific study. Today firefly luciferase is widely used in biotechnology, but the evolutionary origin of bioluminescence within beetles remains unclear. To shed light on this long-standing question, we sequenced the genomes of two firefly species that diverged over 100 million-years-ago: the North American Photinus pyralis and Japanese Aquatica lateralis. To compare bioluminescent origins, we also sequenced the genome of a related click beetle, the Caribbean Ignelater luminosus, with bioluminescent biochemistry near-identical to fireflies, but anatomically unique light organs, suggesting the intriguing hypothesis of parallel gains of bioluminescence. Our analyses support independent gains of bioluminescence in fireflies and click beetles, and provide new insights into the genes, chemical defenses, and symbionts that evolved alongside their luminous lifestyle.https://elifesciences.org/articles/36495bioluminescencefireflyluciferasePhotinus pyralisIgnelater luminosusAquatica lateralis |
| spellingShingle | Timothy R Fallon Sarah E Lower Ching-Ho Chang Manabu Bessho-Uehara Gavin J Martin Adam J Bewick Megan Behringer Humberto J Debat Isaac Wong John C Day Anton Suvorov Christian J Silva Kathrin F Stanger-Hall David W Hall Robert J Schmitz David R Nelson Sara M Lewis Shuji Shigenobu Seth M Bybee Amanda M Larracuente Yuichi Oba Jing-Ke Weng Firefly genomes illuminate parallel origins of bioluminescence in beetles eLife bioluminescence firefly luciferase Photinus pyralis Ignelater luminosus Aquatica lateralis |
| title | Firefly genomes illuminate parallel origins of bioluminescence in beetles |
| title_full | Firefly genomes illuminate parallel origins of bioluminescence in beetles |
| title_fullStr | Firefly genomes illuminate parallel origins of bioluminescence in beetles |
| title_full_unstemmed | Firefly genomes illuminate parallel origins of bioluminescence in beetles |
| title_short | Firefly genomes illuminate parallel origins of bioluminescence in beetles |
| title_sort | firefly genomes illuminate parallel origins of bioluminescence in beetles |
| topic | bioluminescence firefly luciferase Photinus pyralis Ignelater luminosus Aquatica lateralis |
| url | https://elifesciences.org/articles/36495 |
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