PHOTOINHIBITION OF STIMULABLE BIOLUMINESCENCE IN MARINE DINOFLAGELLATES |
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| Authors: | J P Hamman W H Biggley H H Seliger |
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| Institution: | McCollum-Pratt Institute and Department of Biology, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA |
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| Abstract: | Abstract— Different genera of bioluminescent photosynthetic dinoflagellates exhibit different mechanisms for the inhibition of stimulable bioluminescence during daylight. These are (a) reduction in bioluminescence capacity, (b) increased refractoriness to mechanical stimulation, and (c) inhibition of transmission of signals from mechanical receptor sites to bioluminescence emission sites. The increase in stimulable bioluminescence that in nature mirrors the decrease in sunlight intensity prior to sunset is dependent upon the logarithm of the ambient irradiation intensity. Photoinhibition of bioluminescence in all species examined except Gonyaulax polyedra is the result of absorption of light in the blue region of the spectrum. |
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