ホタルイカ（Watasenia scintillans）腕発光器

摘要

The bioluminescence of the firefly squid, Watasenia scintillans, has been studied by manyresearchers for a little over hundred years. The structure of photophores were described in detail. It isconfirmed by X—ray diffraction that the rod-like body is a crystal of certain proteins. But its function hasnot been clear. The luciferin was identified and the chemical structure was elucidated. The luciferase isnot isolated and a little characters of it was defined.