American scientists from the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History have determined exactly when bioluminescence (the ability to emit light through chemical reactions) appeared in terrestrial organisms. The research was published in the scientific journal magazine Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (RSPB).
Bioluminescence has evolved independently in nature at least 94 times. Animals use this feature for camouflage, courtship, communication, hunting and many other situations.
Until now, the earliest origins of bioluminescence were thought to have occurred around 267 million years ago in small marine crustaceans called ostracods.
As a new study shows, the glow of creatures in nature appeared much earlier – no later than 540 million years ago. The first to master this were marine invertebrates – octagons. Octocorals are colonies of small polyps with soft frames. Organisms often emit light in response to stress.
Using genetic and evolutionary datasets, scientists traced the history of octagon development from modern times to its origins. Using a variety of statistical methods, the researchers determined that the common ancestor of all octagons was almost certainly bioluminescence.
According to the study’s authors, their discovery not only sheds light on the origin of bioluminescence but also helps them better understand evolutionary processes.
Scientists could do this before overhear the “singing” of coral reefs.
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Source: Gazeta
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