Bioluminiscencia: cómo los seres vivos producen luz

Autores/as

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.63688/vt3k9e44

Palabras clave:

bioluminiscencia, luciferasa, evolución, ecología, biotecnología

Resumen

La bioluminiscencia es un fenómeno natural mediante el cual distintos organismos producen y emiten luz a partir de reacciones bioquímicas especializadas. El presente estudio tuvo como objetivo analizar los mecanismos de producción de luz, la evolución de los sistemas bioluminiscentes, sus funciones ecológicas y sus principales aplicaciones científicas. La investigación se desarrolló mediante una revisión sistemática de literatura, con enfoque cualitativo, documental y descriptivo-analítico, siguiendo las orientaciones del modelo PRISMA 2020. Se analizaron 15 artículos científicos publicados entre 2020 y 2025. Los resultados evidencian que la bioluminiscencia surgió de manera independiente en diferentes grupos biológicos y cumple funciones relacionadas con la comunicación, la reproducción, la defensa, la alimentación y la adaptación. También se identificaron aplicaciones relevantes en biotecnología, medicina, investigación celular y monitoreo ambiental. Se concluye que la bioluminiscencia constituye un fenómeno diverso con amplio potencial científico, aunque todavía existen vacíos relacionados con especies poco estudiadas, nuevos mecanismos químicos y la optimización de sus aplicaciones tecnológicas.

 

Referencias

Adams, S. T., Jr., & Miller, S. C. (2020). Enzymatic promiscuity and the evolution of bioluminescence. The FEBS Journal, 287(7), 1369–1380. https://doi.org/10.1111/febs.15176

Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2021). One size fits all? What counts as quality practice in (reflexive) thematic analysis? Qualitative Research in Psychology, 18(3), 328–352. https://doi.org/10.1080/14780887.2020.1769238

Cassells, M. D., Labaude, S., & Griffin, C. T. (2024). Beware glowing cadavers: Bioluminescence of nematode symbiont Photorhabdus protects nematode-infected host cadavers from nocturnal scavengers. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 11, Article 1264251. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2023.1264251

DeLeo, D. M., Bessho-Uehara, M., Haddock, S. H. D., McFadden, C. S., & Quattrini, A. M. (2024). Evolution of bioluminescence in Anthozoa with emphasis on Octocorallia. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 291(2021), Article 20232626. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2023.2626

Duchatelet, L., & Dupont, S. (2025). Marine eukaryote bioluminescence: A review of species and their functional biology. Marine Life Science & Technology, 7, 366–381. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42995-024-00250-0

Dunuweera, A. N., Dunuweera, S. P., & Ranganathan, K. (2024). A comprehensive exploration of bioluminescence systems, mechanisms, and advanced assays for versatile applications. Biochemistry Research International, 2024, Article 8273237. https://doi.org/10.1155/2024/8273237

Endo, M., & Ozawa, T. (2020). Advanced bioluminescence system for in vivo imaging with brighter and red-shifted light emission. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 21(18), Article 6538. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21186538

Kim, S.-B., & Furuta, T. (2024). Bioluminescence from the bright and dark sides. Frontiers in Chemical Biology, 3, Article 1459397. https://doi.org/10.3389/fchbi.2024.1459397

Kraus, S., Breier, M., Lim, W. M., Dabić, M., Kumar, S., Kanbach, D., Corvello, V., Piñeiro-Chousa, J., Liguori, E., Palacios-Marqués, D., Schiavone, F., Ferraris, A., Fernandes, C., & Ferreira, J. J. (2022). Literature reviews as independent studies: Guidelines for academic practice. Review of Managerial Science, 16(8), 2577–2595. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11846-022-00588-8

Lau, E. S., & Oakley, T. H. (2021). Multi-level convergence of complex traits and the evolution of bioluminescence. Biological Reviews, 96(2), 673–691. https://doi.org/10.1111/brv.12672

Letendre, F., Twardowski, M., Blackburn, A., Poulin, C., & Latz, M. I. (2024). A review of mechanically stimulated bioluminescence of marine plankton and its applications. Frontiers in Marine Science, 10, Article 1299602. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2023.1299602

Li, S., Ruan, Z., Zhang, H., & Xu, H. (2021). Recent achievements of bioluminescence imaging based on firefly luciferin-luciferase system. European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 211, Article 113111. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejmech.2020.113111

Lim, W. M. (2025). What is qualitative research? An overview and guidelines. Australasian Marketing Journal, 33(2), 199–229. https://doi.org/10.1177/14413582241264619

Liu, S., Su, Y., Lin, M. Z., & Ronald, J. A. (2021). Brightening up biology: Advances in luciferase systems for in vivo imaging. ACS Chemical Biology, 16(12), 2707–2718. https://doi.org/10.1021/acschembio.1c00549

Lomakina, G. Y., & Ugarova, N. N. (2022). Bioluminescent test systems based on firefly luciferase for studying stress effects on living cells. Biophysical Reviews, 14(4), 887–892. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12551-022-00978-y

Love, A. C., & Prescher, J. A. (2020). Seeing (and using) the light: Recent developments in bioluminescence technology. Cell Chemical Biology, 27(8), 904–920. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chembiol.2020.07.022

Moilanen, T., Sivonen, M., Hipp, K., Kallio, H., Papinaho, O., Stolt, M., Turjamaa, R., Häggman-Laitila, A., & Kangasniemi, M. (2022). Developing a feasible and credible method for analyzing healthcare documents as written data. Global Qualitative Nursing Research, 9, Article 23333936221108706. https://doi.org/10.1177/23333936221108706

Otjacques, E., Pissarra, V., Bolstad, K., Xavier, J. C., McFall-Ngai, M., & Rosa, R. (2023). Bioluminescence in cephalopods: Biodiversity, biogeography and research trends. Frontiers in Marine Science, 10, Article 1161049. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2023.1161049

Owens, A. C. S., Van den Broeck, M., De Cock, R., & Lewis, S. M. (2022). Behavioral responses of bioluminescent fireflies to artificial light at night. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 10, Article 946640. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2022.946640

Page, M. J., McKenzie, J. E., Bossuyt, P. M., Boutron, I., Hoffmann, T. C., Mulrow, C. D., Shamseer, L., Tetzlaff, J. M., Akl, E. A., Brennan, S. E., Chou, R., Glanville, J., Grimshaw, J. M., Hróbjartsson, A., Lalu, M. M., Li, T., Loder, E. W., Mayo-Wilson, E., McDonald, S., ... Moher, D. (2021). The PRISMA 2020 statement: An updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. BMJ, 372, Article n71. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n71

Perin, L. S., Moraes, G. V. de, Galeazzo, G. A., & Oliveira, A. G. de. (2022). Bioluminescent dinoflagellates as a bioassay for toxicity assessment. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 23(21), Article 13012. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms232113012

Schramm, S., & Weiß, D. (2024). Bioluminescence—The vibrant glow of nature and its chemical mechanisms. ChemBioChem, 25(9), Article e202400106. https://doi.org/10.1002/cbic.202400106

Shakhova, E. S., Karataeva, T. A., Markina, N. M., et al. (2024). An improved pathway for autonomous bioluminescence imaging in eukaryotes. Nature Methods, 21, 406–410. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41592-023-02152-y

Syed, A. J., & Anderson, J. C. (2021). Applications of bioluminescence in biotechnology and beyond. Chemical Society Reviews, 50, 5668–5705. https://doi.org/10.1039/D0CS01492C

Yeh, A. H.-W., Norn, C., Kipnis, Y., Tischer, D., Pellock, S. J., Evans, D., Ma, P., Lee, G. R., Zhang, J. Z., Anishchenko, I., Coventry, B., Cao, L., Dauparas, J., Halabiya, S., DeWitt, M., Carter, L., Houk, K. N., & Baker, D. (2023). De novo design of luciferases using deep learning. Nature, 614, 774–780. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-05696-3

Descargas

Publicado

2026-06-08

Cómo citar

Macera Veintimilla, D. C., Hoyos Caicedo, J. J., Arteaga Vaca, S. P., Coello Taish, K. G., & Rivera Peláez, S. R. (2026). Bioluminiscencia: cómo los seres vivos producen luz. Sage Sphere of Technology, Sciences, Discoveries And Society, 4(1), 1-25. https://doi.org/10.63688/vt3k9e44