An adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate-requiring mutant of the luminous bacteria Beneckea harveyi

We have isolated a mutant of the luminous bacterium Beneckea harveyi, which requires exogenous adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cyclic AMP) to synthesize luciferase and emit light. The mutant was pleiotropic, lacking not only the ability to luminesce, but also the capacities to form flagella and the ability to utilize a variety of carbohydrates for growth. All these deficiencies could be corrected by added cyclic AMP. The cyclic AMP-induced de novo synthesis of luciferase was possible only after autoinduction had occurred. The induction time by cyclic AMP ranged between 6 and 10 min at 27 degrees C.