Calcium Binding, Quantum Yield, and Emitting Molecule in Aequorin Bioluminescence

THE protein aequorin, from the jellyfish Aequorea , emits bluish light in aqueous solution on addition specifically of calcium or strontium; the necessary energy of more than 60 kcalories/mole at the peak wavelength is evidently provided by an intramolecular reaction which is accompanied by a change...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature (London) 1970-09, Vol.227 (5265), p.1356-1357
Main Authors: SHIMOMURA, OSAMU, JOHNSON, FRANK H
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Amino Acids - analysis
Calcium
Chromatography, Gel
Cnidaria
Edetic Acid
Electrophoresis, Disc
Fluorometry
Humanities and Social Sciences
letter
Luminescent Measurements
Molecular Weight
multidisciplinary
Protein Binding
Proteins - analysis
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
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Summary:THE protein aequorin, from the jellyfish Aequorea , emits bluish light in aqueous solution on addition specifically of calcium or strontium; the necessary energy of more than 60 kcalories/mole at the peak wavelength is evidently provided by an intramolecular reaction which is accompanied by a change in absorption spectrum and yields a blue fluorescent reaction product 1,2 . The extreme sensitivity to Ca 2+ , much more than to Sr 2+ , provides a basis for quick microdetermination of Ca 2+ in biological fluids 3 and has been used in detecting the relation of Ca 2+ to contraction of single muscle fibres 4,5 and to activity of mitochondria 6 . The chief properties of aequorin, including the molecular weight (m.w.) of 30,000 by sedimentation, diffusion or 32,000 by amino-acid composition, have been reported 7 . The kinetics of the light-emitting reaction have also been studied 8 .
ISSN:0028-0836
1476-4687
DOI:10.1038/2271356a0