Current Science

Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Subscription Access

Steady-State and Time-Resolved Bioluminescence of the Firefly Asymmetricata circumdata (Motschulsky)


Affiliations
1 Department of Physics, Gauhati University, Guwahati 781 014, India
2 Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, Institute of Science and Technology, Gauhati University, Guwahati 781 014, India
 

After Luciola praeusta Kiesenwetter 1874, Asymmetricata circumdata (Motschulsky) is the second Indian species of firefly identified recently. Here we present steady-state and time-resolved measurements of bioluminescence emissions of male specimens of this new-found species. Steady-state spectra recorded in a high-resolution spectrometer show the peak wavelength at 570 nm, while the same on a colour film in a glass spectrograph show the peak at 579 nm between green and red bands, which prompts speculation that a sharp, laser-like line might exist in the emission spectrum of this species just as the one in L. praeusta. The diffraction pattern produced by a grating consolidates this proposition. Flashes recorded in an oscilloscope reveal the appearance of a small pulse in combination with the main one, which becomes prominent both at low and high temperatures.

Keywords

Asymmetricata circumdata (Motsch.), Bimodal Flash, Emission Spectrum, Peak Wavelength.
User
Notifications
Font Size

  • Biggley, W. H., Lloyd, J. E. and Seliger, H. H., The spectral distribution of firefly light II. J. Gen. Physiol., 1967, 50, 1681–1692.

  • Bora, L. and Baruah, G. D., Bioluminescence emission of few species of fireflies. Indian J. Phys. B, 1991, 65, 551–557.

  • Iwasaka, M. and Ueno, S., Bioluminescence under static magnetic fields. J. Appl. Phys., 1998, 83, 6456–6458.

  • Gohain Barua, A., Hazarika, S., Saikia, N. M. and Baruah, G. D., Bioluminescence emissions of the firefly Luciola praeusta Kiesenwetter 1874 (Coleoptera : Lampyridae : Luciolinae). J. Biosci., 2009, 34, 287–292.

  • Coblentz, W. W., A physical study of the firefly. Bull. Carneg. Inst., 1912, 164, 1–47.

  • Nakatsu, T., Ichiyama, S., Hiratake, J., Saldanha, A., Kobashi, N., Sakata, K. and Kato, H., Structural basis for the spectral difference in luciferase bioluminescence. Nature, 2006, 440, 372–376.

  • Dehingia, N., Baruah, D., Siam, C., Gohain Barua, A. and Baruah, G. D., Purkinje effect and bioluminescence of fireflies. Curr. Sci., 2010, 99, 1425–1427.

  • Gohain Barua, A., Sharma, U., Phukan, M. and Hazarika, S., Sharp intense line in the bioluminescence emission of the firefly. J. Biol. Phys., 2014, 40, 267–274.

  • Sharma, U., Phukan, M., Rabha, M. M. and Gohain Barua, A., Diffraction of the light of the firefly by a grating. Asian J. Phys., 2014, 23, 833–837.

  • Mochizuki, T., Wang, Y., Hiyama, M. and Akiyama, H., Robust red-emission spectra and yields in firefly bioluminescence against temperature changes. Appl. Phys. Lett., 2014, 104, 213704.

  • Branham, M. A. and Greenfield, M. D., Flashing fireflies win mate success. Nature, 1996, 381, 745–746.

  • Buck, J., Case, J. F. and. Hansen, F. E., Control of flashing in fireflies III. Peripheral excitation. Biol. Bull., 1963, 125, 251–269.

  • Lloyd, J. E., Fireflies of Melanesia: bioluminescence, mating behaviour and synchronous flashing (Coleoptera: Lampyridae). Environ. Entomol., 1973, 2, 991–1008.

  • Barry, J. D., Heitman, J. M. and Lane, C. R., Time-resolved spectrometry of in vivo firefly bioluminescence emissions. J. Appl. Phys., 1979, 50, 7181–7184.

  • Saikia, J., Changmai, R. and Baruah, G. D., Bioluminescence of fireflies and evaluation of firefly pulses in light of oscillatory chemical reactions. Indian J. Pure Appl. Phys., 2001, 39, 825–828.

  • Gohain Barua, A., Iwasaka, M., Miyashita, Y., Kurita, S. and Owada, N., Firefly flashing under strong static magnetic field. Photochem. Photobiol. Sci., 2012, 11, 345–350.

  • Gohain Barua, A. and Rajbongshi, S., The light of the firefly under the influence of ethyl acetate. J. Biosci., 2010, 35, 183–186.

  • Gohain Barua, A., Modulations in the light of the firefly. J. Biosci., 2013, 38, 9–12.

  • Vencl, F. D. and Carlson, A. D., Proximate mechanisms of sexual selection in the firefly Photinus pyralis (Coleoptera: Lampyridae). J. Insect. Behav., 1998, 11, 191–207.

  • Timmins, G. S., Robb, F. J., Wilmot, C., Jackson, S. and Swartz, H. M., Firefly flashing is controlled by gating oxygen to light emitting cells. J. Exp. Biol., 2001, 204, 2795–2801.

  • Trimmer, B. A. et al., Nitric oxide and the control of firefly flashing. Science, 2001, 292, 2486–2488.

  • Carlson, A. D., Is the firefly flash regulated by calcium? Integr. Comp. Biol., 2004, 44, 220–224.

  • Tsai, Y.-L. et al., Firefly light flashing: oxygen supply mechanism. Phys. Rev. Lett., 2014, 113, 25810.

  • Iguchi, Y., Temperature-dependent geographic variation in the flashes of the firefly Luciola cruciata (Coleoptera: Lampyridae). J. Nat. Hist., 2010, 44, 861–867.

  • Sharma, U., Goswami, A., Phukan, M., Rajbongshi, S. C. and Gohain Barua, A., Temperature dependence of the flash duration of the firefly Luciola praeusta. Photochem. Photobiol. Sci., 2014, 13, 1788–1792.

  • Moss, G. W. J., Lieb, W. R. and Franks, N. P., Anaesthetic inhibition of firefly luciferase, a protein model for general anaesthesia, does not exhibit pressure reversal. Biophys. J., 1991, 60, 1309–1314.

  • Ueda, I., Shinoda, F. and Kamaya, H., Temperature-dependent effects of high pressure on the bioluminescence of firefly luciferase. Biophys. J., 1994, 66, 2107–2110.

  • Iwasaka, M., Miyashita, Y., Barua, A. G., Kurita, S. and Owada, N., Changes in bioluminescence of firefly under pulsed and static magnetic fields. J. Appl. Phys., 2011, 109, 07B303.


Abstract Views: 513

PDF Views: 138




  • Steady-State and Time-Resolved Bioluminescence of the Firefly Asymmetricata circumdata (Motschulsky)

Abstract Views: 513  |  PDF Views: 138

Authors

Angana Goswami
Department of Physics, Gauhati University, Guwahati 781 014, India
Upamanyu Sharma
Department of Physics, Gauhati University, Guwahati 781 014, India
Mana Mohan Rabha
Department of Physics, Gauhati University, Guwahati 781 014, India
Subhash Chandra Rajbongshi
Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, Institute of Science and Technology, Gauhati University, Guwahati 781 014, India
Anurup Gohain Barua
Department of Physics, Gauhati University, Guwahati 781 014, India

Abstract


After Luciola praeusta Kiesenwetter 1874, Asymmetricata circumdata (Motschulsky) is the second Indian species of firefly identified recently. Here we present steady-state and time-resolved measurements of bioluminescence emissions of male specimens of this new-found species. Steady-state spectra recorded in a high-resolution spectrometer show the peak wavelength at 570 nm, while the same on a colour film in a glass spectrograph show the peak at 579 nm between green and red bands, which prompts speculation that a sharp, laser-like line might exist in the emission spectrum of this species just as the one in L. praeusta. The diffraction pattern produced by a grating consolidates this proposition. Flashes recorded in an oscilloscope reveal the appearance of a small pulse in combination with the main one, which becomes prominent both at low and high temperatures.

Keywords


Asymmetricata circumdata (Motsch.), Bimodal Flash, Emission Spectrum, Peak Wavelength.

References





DOI: https://doi.org/10.18520/cs%2Fv109%2Fi10%2F1838-1842