Photobacterium phosphoreum is a Gram-negative, bioluminescent bacterium living in symbiosis with deep-sea marine organisms, such as anglerfish. It can emit bluish-green light (490 nm) due to a chemical reaction between FMN, luciferin and molecular oxygen catalysed by an enzyme called luciferase.

Ecology

P. phosphoreum appears to be distributed worldwide in oceans and is found in a variety of different marine habitats.

References

  • Piotr Madanecki's Website about Luminescent Bacteria
  • Isolation of P. phosphoreum Cultures from Seafish
  • Type strain of Photobacterium phosphoreum at BacDive - the Bacterial Diversity Metadatabase