Coelenterazine

Coelenterazine is a luciferin, a light-emitting molecule, found in many aquatic organisms across eight phyla. It is the substrate of many luciferases such as Renilla reniformis luciferase (Rluc), Gaussia luciferase (Gluc), and photoproteins, including aequorin, and obelin. Coelenterazine is a luciferin, a light-emitting molecule, found in many aquatic organisms across eight phyla. It is the substrate of many luciferases such as Renilla reniformis luciferase (Rluc), Gaussia luciferase (Gluc), and photoproteins, including aequorin, and obelin. Coelenterazine was simultaneously isolated and characterized by two groups studying the luminescent organisms sea pansy (Renilla reniformis) and the cnidarian Aequorea victoria, respectively. Both groups unknowingly discovered that the same compound was used in both luminescent systems, however the name of the molecule was given after the now-obsolete phylum coelenterata. Likewise, the two main metabolites – coelenteramide and coelenteramine – were named after their respective functional groups. Despite being first discovered in Aequorea victoria, it was later shown that they do not synthesize coelenterazine, rather they obtain it through their diet, largely from crustaceans and copepods.