Biofluorescence
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Bioluminescence and biofluorescence can serve the same ecological function of inter and intraspecific communication and both involve light. The physical mechanisms of these processes are different though: bioluminescence produces light as a result of a chemical reaction inside a living organism, often involving luciferase, while fluorescence requires an external light source and converts absorbed light into a new one. The fluorescent substance absorbs light at one wavelength, often blue or UV, and emits at another, longer wavelength, green, red, or anything in between. In a living organism, the fluorescent agent often is a protein(s), but it could be the other biomolecules as well.
It has been suggested that this article be merged into Bioluminescence. (Discuss) Proposed since May 2024. |
Since biofluorescence was discovered in Aequorea victoria and Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) structure was resolved, many other organisms, invertebrate and vertebrate, were proved to exhibit fluorescence and many new fluorescent proteins were discovered.[1] [2] [3]