The instance of bioluminescence is both mysterious and relatively common. Most of us have observed a meandering firefly on a hazy summer evening. Few of us have understood what processes were going on in the firefly abdomen that resulted in the emission of light by a living organism. The phenomenon of bioluminescence is not limited to fireflies and glowworms. In fact, bioluminescence affects many different types of species. It helps them survive and can be …showed first 75 words of 2241 total…

…showed last 75 words of 2241 total…energy called a photon. The excited state molecule releases this photon by means of electron transfer and is extremely efficient. Accessory proteins such as GFP and YFP affect the wavelength of emitted light (shifting it to green or yellow) by interacting with reaction intermediates. Bioluminescence is a useful and still-studied occurrence that, as simple and attractive as it seems, brings together many complex molecular reactions to achieve the emission of light by a living organism.