Bioluminescence
The bioluminescent light emitted by fireflies has dazzled scientists for centuries, including the mechanism of the light emission of different colors from the same chemical reaction.
Luciferase enzymes are at the core of this natural phenomenon with energy transduction for the conversion of the chemical energy stored within the ground-state of the substrate (luciferin) to an excited, emissive state of the product (oxyluciferin). Understanding the mechanism for the stimulation of different colors of light is important for the advancement of different applications including in vivo imaging, monitoring of cell proliferation, studies into protein folding and secretion, and other environmental research and food quality control applications.