Popecki M S, Rogers R L, Archer-Hartmann S A, Wares J P, Stanger-Hall K F
bioRxiv. 2024 Sep 25:2024.09.23.614534. doi: 10.1101/2024.09.23.614534.
Fireflies use bioluminescent signals to communicate with their mates. Luciferase has been thought to be the sole contributor to light color; however, populations of the Photinus pyralis firefly display variation in the color of their emitted signals yet have identical luciferase sequences. Here, we examined whether pigments could be present in the light organs of the twilight-active species P. pyralis and contribute to this variation. We detected patterns of expression that suggest ommochrome and pterin screening pigments are expressed in P. pyralis light organs and could filter light emitted by luciferase and play a role in signal tuning. There were no significant differences between the pigment gene expression of P. pyralis individuals with yellower and greener signals. Our study provides alternative mechanisms that could influence pigments in P. pyralis light organs that could also play a role in modifying signal color.
萤火虫利用生物发光信号与配偶进行交流。一直以来，荧光素酶被认为是光颜色的唯一贡献者；然而，北美萤火虫种群发出信号的颜色存在差异，但其荧光素酶序列却是相同的。在此，我们研究了在黄昏活跃的北美萤火虫的发光器官中是否存在色素，并对这种差异产生影响。我们检测到的表达模式表明，蝶啶和眼色素筛选色素在北美萤火虫发光器官中表达，它们可以过滤荧光素酶发出的光，并在信号调节中发挥作用。发出较黄和较绿信号的北美萤火虫个体的色素基因表达没有显著差异。我们的研究提供了其他可能影响北美萤火虫发光器官中色素的机制，这些机制也可能在改变信号颜色方面发挥作用。
