Molecular evolution of luciferase diversified bioluminescent signals in sea fireflies
N. M. Hensley, E. A. Ellis, N. Y. Leung, J. Coupart, A. Mikhailovsky, D. A. Taketa, M. Tessler, D. F. Gruber, Y. Mitani, A. W. De Tomaso, T. J. Rivers, G. A. Gerrish, E. Torres, T. H. Oakley
This study identifies a single gene, cypridinid-luciferase, as a key driver of bioluminescent signal diversification in sea fireflies, showing how selection, drift, and constraint shaped phenotypic variation across species.
bioRxiv · Jan 23, 2020Evolutionary Biology