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Updated: Apr 9, 2026

In Situ Measurement and Correlation of Cell Density and Light Emission of Bioluminescent Bacteria
Published on: June 28, 2018
The Chemical Basis of Fungal Bioluminescence
Konstantin V Purtov1, Valentin N Petushkov1, Mikhail S Baranov2
1Institute of Biophysics, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Akademgorodok, Krasnoyarsk 660036 (Russia).
Abstract:
Many species of fungi naturally produce light, a phenomenon known as bioluminescence, however, the fungal substrates used in the chemical reactions that produce light have not been reported. We identified the fungal compound luciferin 3-hydroxyhispidin, which is biosynthesized by oxidation of the precursor hispidin, a known fungal and plant secondary metabolite. The fungal luciferin does not share structural similarity with the other eight known luciferins. Furthermore, it was shown that 3-hydroxyhispidin leads to bioluminescence in extracts from four diverse genera of luminous fungi, thus suggesting a common biochemical mechanism for fungal bioluminescence.
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