Connecticut College - Bioluminescence Research Group - Bioluminescence Educational Modules

Bioluminescence Educational Modules

Professor Branchini with Professor Ivano Bertini of the Center for Magnetic Resonance, <br> University of Florence, Florence, Italy.

Professor Aldo Roda, University of Bologna, with members of the HHMI educational CD team.

Bioanalytical Applications of Bioluminescence, an educational CD

Connecticut College has received grants from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the W. M. Keck Foundation to help incorporate a wide variety of emerging fields of study into undergraduate curricula. The Modules in Emerging Fields program brings visiting scholars to campus to share their expertise in a given field. This module, "Bioanalytical Applications of Bioluminescence," is produced in conjunction with an instructional designer, formatted onto a CD and distributed, free of charge, to interested individuals. We anticipate that this CD will serve not only as a teaching tool for the classroom, but will also share with students the potential research applications of bioluminescence and how it may apply to their molecular biology and biochemistry studies. Copies of this CD will be available, free of charge, in the Fall of 2004, by request to Professor Bruce Branchini.

This module includes an historical overview of bioluminescence, which is the emission of light by living organisms. This phenomenon is widely distributed in nature, with 17 phyla and around 700 genera represented. Perhaps the most well known example is the firefly, but there are also bioluminescent bacteria, fungi, and marine organisms. The marine environment hosts the majority of bioluminescent organisms, including jellyfish, crustaceans, mollusks, and dinoflagellates. The biological and biochemical diversity of this phenomenon as well as some of the bioanalytical applications using bioluminescence and fluorescence of related systems will be presented. We also provide additional information about the speakers and their research, as well as some resources for further exploration of bioluminescence.

The CD features experts who discuss the history of bioluminescence research as well as current applications of bioluminescence and fluorescence in the biosciences. The topics include: (1) An overview of Bioluminescence by Professor J. Woodland Hastings, Harvard University; (2) Bioluminescence Science and Technology for the U.S. Navy by Dr. Keith Ward, Department of Homeland Security; (3) Multi-Color In-Vivo Imaging by Dr. Robert Hoffman, Anti-Cancer, Inc.; (4) Application of Luminescence to Biochemical and Cellular Assays by Dr. Keith Wood, Promega Corporation; and (5) Bioluminescence: A Sensitive Tool in Biosciences, by Dr. Aldo Roda, University of Bologna.

We would like to thank the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the W. M. Keck Foundation for the generous grants that made this project possible. This work was also supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation (MCB 0130908) and the Hans & Ella McCollum ‘21 Vahlteich Endowment. Thanks also go to Marc Zimmer, the director of the program, and to Janet Hayes, whose multimedia expertise allowed for the production of this project.

Firefly Bioluminescence, a Web-based review article.

An overview of firefly bioluminescence by Bruce Branchini written for general audiences and available in a Web-based format in Bioluminescence (2003) (J. Lee, ed.). The Digital Photobiology Compendium Series (D.Valenzeno,ed.).