Hastings J W
J Mol Evol. 1983;19(5):309-21. doi: 10.1007/BF02101634.
A diversity of organisms are endowed with the ability to emit light, and to display and control it in a variety of ways. Most of the luciferins (substrates) of the various phylogenetically distant systems fall into unrelated chemical classes, and, based on still limited data, the luciferases (enzymes) and reaction mechanisms are distinctly different. Based on its diversity and phylogenetic distribution, it is estimated that bioluminescence may have arisen independently as many as 30 times in the course of evolution. However, there are several examples of cross-phyletic similarities among the substrates; some of these may be accounted for nutritionally, but in other cases they may have evolved independently.
多种生物具有发光的能力，并能以多种方式展现和控制光。各种系统发育关系较远的生物的大多数荧光素（底物）属于不相关的化学类别，并且基于仍然有限的数据，荧光素酶（酶）和反应机制明显不同。基于其多样性和系统发育分布，据估计生物发光在进化过程中可能独立出现多达30次。然而，在底物之间存在一些跨系统发育相似性的例子；其中一些可能从营养角度得到解释，但在其他情况下它们可能是独立进化的。
