Luciferase Activity of Insect Fatty Acyl-CoA Synthetases with Synthetic Luciferins

ACS Chemical Biology
David M MoffordStephen C Miller

Abstract

Long-chain fatty acyl-CoA synthetases (ACSLs) are homologues of firefly luciferase but are incapable of emitting light with firefly luciferin. Recently, we found that an ACSL from the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster is a latent luciferase that will emit light with the synthetic luciferin CycLuc2. Here, we have profiled a panel of three insect ACSLs with a palette of >20 luciferin analogues. An ACSL from the nonluminescent beetle Agrypnus binodulus (AbLL) was found to be a second latent luciferase with distinct substrate specificity. Several rigid luciferins emit light with both ACSLs, but styryl luciferin analogues are light-emitting substrates only for AbLL. On the other hand, an ACSL from the luminescent beetle Pyrophorus angustus lacks luciferase activity with all tested analogues, despite its higher homology to beetle luciferases. Further study of ACSLs is expected to shed light on the features necessary for bioluminescence and substrate selectivity.

References

Feb 12, 2008·Photochemical & Photobiological Sciences : Official Journal of the European Photochemistry Association and the European Society for Photobiology·Hugo Fraga
Sep 11, 2010·Journal of the American Chemical Society·Gadarla Randheer ReddyStephen C Miller
Mar 13, 2014·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·David M MoffordStephen C Miller
Aug 1, 2014·Current Opinion in Chemical Biology·Spencer T Adams, Stephen C Miller
Sep 12, 2014·Journal of the American Chemical Society·David M MoffordStephen C Miller
Mar 12, 2015·Journal of the American Chemical Society·Hideo TakakuraYasuteru Urano
Jun 10, 2015·Journal of the American Chemical Society·Bruce R BranchiniGary W Brudvig
Jan 20, 2016·Chemistry : a European Journal·Rachel C SteinhardtJennifer A Prescher
Oct 5, 2016·Accounts of Chemical Research·Aleksandra S TsarkovaIlia V Yampolsky

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Citations

Dec 13, 2019·The FEBS Journal·Spencer T Adams, Stephen C Miller
Jun 17, 2020·Luminescence : the Journal of Biological and Chemical Luminescence·Yong JuJianzhong Lu
Jun 15, 2019·Current Opinion in Biotechnology·Timothy A SuChristopher J Chang
Jun 8, 2018·Current Opinion in Chemical Biology·Zi YaoJennifer A Prescher
Feb 15, 2018·ACS Chemical Biology·Stephen C MillerSpencer T Adams
Nov 26, 2020·Bioconjugate Chemistry·Ryo NishiharaRyoji Kurita
Aug 18, 2021·Chembiochem : a European Journal of Chemical Biology·Yuma IkedaDaniel Citterio

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