Figure 2.
Bioluminescence is based upon a chemical reaction that occurs between the luciferase enzyme and corresponding substrate. (A) Firefly luciferase (FLuc) reacts with D-luciferin in the presence of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), molecular oxygen, and magnesium to produce light. (B) Both Renilla (RLuc) and Gaussia luciferase (GLuc) only require coelenterazine and oxygen to produce light. (C) Bioluminescence from the NanoLuc (NLuc) system occurs when the optimized substrate called furimazine reacts with NLuc in the presence of molecular oxygen. This reaction yields furimamide and luminescence output.