The Anatomy and Physiology of the Light Organ in Fireflies

Buck, John D.

doi:10.1111/j.1749-6632.1948.tb30944.x

Cited by 102 publications

(89 citation statements)

References 74 publications

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“…It is well known that the firefly lantern is a slab-like tissue, consisting of a ventral photogenic layer and a dorsal reflector layer [18][19][20][21]. The photogenic layer houses the light reaction, while the reflector layer is a specialized tissue which is believed to play a key role for increasing the bioluminescence intensity through reflection.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sharp intense line in the bioluminescence emission of the firefly

et al. 2014

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Numerous investigations have been carried out on the spectral distribution of the light of different species of fireflies. Here we record the emission spectrum of the Indian species of the firefly Luciola praeusta Kiesenwetter 1874 (Coleoptera : Lampyridae : Luciolinae) on a color film. Green and red color-sectors, with an intense yellow one in between, appear in this spectrum. Intensity profile of this spectrum reveals a hitherto undetected strong narrow yellow line, which lies within the full-width-at-half maximum (FWHM) of the intensity profile. The spectrum recorded in a high-resolution spectrometer confirms the presence of this sharp intense line. This finding lends support to an earlier drawn analogy between the in vivo emission of the firefly and laser light.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sharp intense line in the bioluminescence emission of the firefly

et al. 2014

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“…The photocytes, abutting onto the transparent cuticle of the sternite, are arranged in rosette form (see Fig. 1), and are backed by a layer of irregular cells containing large numbers of granules reported to consist of urate, constituting the so called "reflecting layer," though since, as Buck (1948) points out, the evidence that they reflect the light emitted by the photocytes is slender, these ceils will here…”

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confidence: 99%

“…), no detailed information has hitherto been available on the nature and distribution of nerve terminals in this tissue. Much of the controversy and multiplicity of hypotheses that have centered around the control mechanism involved in flashing in fireflies (Buck, 1948) is attributable to this shortcoming in structural descriptions of the light organ.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…In the North American species of Photinus and Photuris, in which light is characteristically emitted in flashes, the lanterns are compact organs which lie against the ventral sclerites of the 6th and 7th abdominal segments, in the male, while in the female they are smaller and often restricted to one segment. The variation in distribution of the lanterns in these and other forms has been reviewed fully by Buck (1948). In the larva, two similarly situated but very small lanterns are present in the 8th abdominal segment; according to Hess (1921) these originate from mesodermal fat-body cells which differentiate locally to produce a two-layered organ, consisting of the ventral "photogenic epithelium" backed by the cells of the "reflecting layer."…”

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confidence: 99%

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THE ORGANIZATION AND INNERVATION OF THE LUMINESCENT ORGAN IN A FIREFLY, PHOTURIS PENNSYLVANICA (COLEOPTERA)

Smith

1963

The Journal of Cell Biology

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The organization of the luminescent organ of an adult firefly has been studied with the electron microscope, and particular attention has been given to the disposition of nerve terminals within the organ. The cytological structure of the cells of the tracheal system, the peripheral and terminal axons, the photocytes and the cells of the dorsal ("reflecting") layer is described. Previous observations on the peripheral course of nerve branches alongside the tracheal trunks at the level of the dorsal layer and photocyte epithelium have been confirmed, and specialised nerve endings containing axoplasmic components structurally identical with "synaptic vesicles" and "neurosecretory droplets" have been identified, not in association with the surface of the photocytes, but lying between the apposed surfaces of two components of the tracheal epithelium: the tracheal end-cell and the tracheolar cell. These cytological findings are discussed in terms of available biochemical and physiological evidence concerning the mechanism of light emission in the firefly, especially with respect to the possible role of chemical "transmitter" action in triggering a response in a luminescent effector system.

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“…In Photuris pennsylvania, for example, males flash at a rate of about 3/sec., and each flash normally appears as a symmetrical response, lasting around 0'15 sec., and rising to a peak in half that time. There is still some uncertainty how these flashes are controlled, but much suggestive evidence exists that flashing is regulated by provision of oxygen through tracheal end-cells (see Buck, 1948, andHarvey, 1952, for review of literature). In Fig.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The nervous control of luminescent responses in polynoid worms

Nicol

1954

J. Mar. Biol. Ass.

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Some preliminary observations on luminescence in polynoid worms have been presented in a previous paper (Nicol, 1953). These animals produce light in scales (elytra) which cover the dorsal surface of the body. The source of the light lies in a layer of unicellular epithelium on the lower surface of the scale. Histologically, this tissue consists of columnar cells (photocytes), characterized by the presence of coarse eosinophilic granules in the cytoplasm. The nervous supply of the elytrum derives from a nerve trunk which ascends the stalk or elytrophore and proceeds to a ganglion in the centre of the scale. From this ganglion nerves radiate peripherally and proceed to the photocytes, and to sensory receptors on the dorsal surface and at the margin of the scale (Bonhomme, 1942).

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The Anatomy and Physiology of the Light Organ in Fireflies

Cited by 102 publications

References 74 publications

Sharp intense line in the bioluminescence emission of the firefly

Sharp intense line in the bioluminescence emission of the firefly

THE ORGANIZATION AND INNERVATION OF THE LUMINESCENT ORGAN IN A FIREFLY, PHOTURIS PENNSYLVANICA (COLEOPTERA)

The nervous control of luminescent responses in polynoid worms

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