FRES1010 Bioluminescence, Fall 2005; Call # 38-596
Class Time: 2:00-3:15 pm every Thursday in the Life Science Bldg, Room C122
Course website:Go to the front page of the Department's site www.bmb.uga.edu, then scroll down to Course websites, at the end of which you will find FRES1010 Bioluminescence. Click there. OR, just go straight to www.bmb.uga.edu/fres1010
Course description: Bioluminescence, also called "Living Light", is found throughout the animal kingdom occurring both in terrestrial and marine habitats. We will look at all aspects of this subject, from natural history to cutting edge research in molecular mechanisms. We will also look at how bioluminescence techniques are finding many applications nowadays, in clinical diagnostics and detection of toxic substances.
Who am I?Professor John Lee (jlee@uga.edu; 542-1764; A120A Life Sciences Bldg).
I am a native of Sydney, Australia, and received my Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of New South Wales in 1960. My research was in nuclear physics and chemistry. I moved to the Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore) where I took up the study of bioluminescence, and came to University of Georgia in 1969. For 2002-2004 I was President of the International Society for Bioluminescence and Chemiluminescence.
Who are you?On the first day of class you will tell me about yourself, home, interests, possible major, contact information (email, phone).
Grading:This is a one-credit hour course and the grades are either S or U
To receive an S grade you have to SHOW UP on time, participate in class discussions, make an acceptable presentation of one paper assigned from the "List of presentations", get an S grade on the (light) weekly homework, and proceed through assigned modules in the Digital Photobiology Compendium (www.photobiology.info).
For excused absences I have to have a valid excuse in writing!
Homework:See the end of this file.
Withdrawls:If after the first few weeks I find you are not heading towards an "S" grade, I will give you a "W". UGA rules that after mid-semester it must be "WF", so we need to take care of it before then!
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The "scientific method" for obtaining reliable knowledge about the world had its origins almost 3000 years ago but it is only in the last few hundred years that Science has matured to its dominance today. Science is very successful because it produces reliable predictive knowledge but only within rather structured boundaries. That is, the scientific method has very strict and narrow rules about what subjects are accessible for investigation. Science advances by small steps of experiment and verification, and it progresses from what has already been strictly established to be true. Each step must be carefully validated, sometimes a new finding is easy to verify by other scientists. At the other extreme some findings severely challenge established beliefs and generate much study and excitement.
Bioluminescence is one of the oldest studied subjects in Science. We will see how it fits into these ideas above about the scientific method. Because we can't take up this study the way scientists would, by going on research cruises, collecting fireflies for analysis, doing experiments in the lab, we will have to make do with what has been done by others. For our "field" studies we will look at a collection of videos and at a number of web sites listed below.
This class is an experiment in the use of an on-line text book covering the whole field of Photobiology, the study of interaction of light with living things. We restrict ourselves of course just to one field of photobiology, Bioluminescence. The text book has been paid for by the US Department of Education and they need to know how successful it is in helping you to learn about this subject. These results will help them plan further in how the internet can be a useful aid in education.
This on-line text-book is called the Digital Photobiology Compendium (DPC) and you can find it at: www.photobiology.info
When you log in you will need to register. Ask for the Work FRES1010. You have to take a painless pretest and post-test for each chapter and although I will monitor these, they are not for grading. The Department of Education just wants to know if you have learned anything after reading each chapter. I could not expect freshmen to be able to fully comprehend some of the advanced work. You see that Science has a very hierarchical structure, elementary concepts have to be digested before advanced subjects can be fully understood.
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Click through all of the following web sites. The first one is an encyclopedia article mostly about chemistry and physics. This encyclopedia you will find useful for other courses too.
Browser glitches: A few of these addresses don't click directly, you may have to copy/paste the address into your browser address panel.
www.els.net search word: bioluminescence
GENERALLY INTERESTING WEB SITES
Marine bioluminescence from the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution
International Society for Bioluminescence and Chemiluminescence
www.wsg.washington.ed u/story/storyarchives/blinks.html
Friday Harbor Laboratories: Research on the Photoprotein
http://www.golden-heron.com/biobay.html
Famous bioluminescent bay in Vieques PR
http://www.bmb.uga.edu/wampler/biolum/index.html
UGA site for studies of Sea Pansy (Renilla) and earthworm bioluminescence
www.utah.edu/cseo/Bi oluminescence/Bio Lum
Dinoflagellate bioluminescence educational site
www.bioscience-explained.or g/EN1.1/flashlight.html
Movies of the flashlight fish
Large collection of bioluminescence pictures and info
vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~ear/sea-glow.html
Glowing seafood due to presence of marine bioluminescent bacteria
siobiolum.ucsd.edu/Biolum_Harvey.html
Historical reports of bioluminescence
ergo.integratedgenomics.com/Genomes/VFI/vibrio_fischeri.html
Bioluminescent genome project
www.disknet.com/indiana_biolab/b203. htm
How to work with bioluminescent bacteria
Firefly gene therapy
http://sciencebulletins.amnh.org/bio/f/jellies.20040615/essays/24_1.php
How the jellyfish got its glow
http://www.bio.davidson.edu/Courses/anphys/1999/Cody/organisms.html
Animal Physiology course at Davidson College
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HOMEWORK
August 24
Homework to be emailed to me jlee@uga.edu by 11:59 pm, Wednesday, August 24, or August 31 for those who added August 25:
1. Go to FRES1010 via www.bmb.uga.edu Class Information-Resources then click through all 16 web sites and write 2 sentences on each content.
2. Logon to the Digital Photobiology Compendium www.photobiology.info
Learners, Register, take the tests for "Basic" in the Bioluminescence row.
August 31 (everybody)
REPLY
Please hit the "reply" button for this email so I know I have your email address correct, thanks.
September 8
Email to me before September 8, a 200 word summary of today's video ""Forbidden Depths, Part 1"
September 15
Email to me by September 15, a 200-300 (not more) summary of the second part of the "Forbidden Depths" video shown today, September 9. Insert these key words: ecola, ctenophores, pelagia, siphonophores, hydrozoa, nudibranch.
Any time you are not sure of something you can usually find information on Google, or for more detail in the Encyclopedia of Life Sciences, www.els.net (you need to use Explorer for the els).
Also send by "Reply" the Quiz I will mail to you individually (by September 15 also).
September 21, 2004
Return this homework by September 21 midnight in order to get an "S' grade.
Just hit the "reply" and fill in the answers.
Go to www.photobiology.info
Module: "The diversity of light producing marine organisms"
1. Name 5 light emissions that are NOT bioluminescence
a.___________________ b. _______________ c.__________________
d. __________________ e. _____________________
2. Inspector Calamari solved the 'Case of the Disappearing Squid"
What is the correct answer? A B C D
3. Bioluminescence is the production of light, usually _____________ mediated
which occurs inside an ______________
4. The scientific name of the world's most famous jellyfish is
___________________ _________________________
5. The letters GFP stand for _____________ _______________ _________________
6. Give the common name or scientific name of an example of bioluminescence
occurring in:
__________________ ________________ phytoplankton anthozoa ________________ _______________ ctenophores molluscs ________________ _______________ echinoderms Chordates __________________________________________________________
September 29, 2005
Return this homework by September 28 midnight in order to get an "S' grade.
Go to the module "Terrestrial Bioluminescence" at
www.photobiology.info. You'll find it very covenient to answer the questions by just hitting the reply button then
you will get a new screen on which you can fill out the answers.
Hint: Go to "google" if you are lost, or to www.els.net
1. Write one sentence to explain the terms:
Phylogenetic
Adaptation
Morphology
Diptera
Coeleoptera
2. Bioluminescence spectra are broad emissions. What is the maximum wavelength
of a blue bioluminescence __________
and a red bioluminescence __________.
3.What does the abbreviation "nm" stand for?
3. What is the color of foxfire bioluminescence?
4. Name four types of bioluminescent species that exist on land.
5. Why are fireflies not flies?
6. Answer True (T) or False (F):
time flies like an arrow or fruit flies like bananas _______
______________________________________________________________________
_ Homework for October 5, 2005
Write a summary of the Navy video "Secret Lights in the Sea". It must be
less than 300 words (do a word count).
______________________________________________________________________________________________
Homework for October 12, 2005
Return this homework by October 12 midnight in order to get an "S" grade.
Go to the module "Firefly Bioluminescence" at www.photobiology.info.
Answer the questions by hitting the reply button then filling in the answers.
Quiz Oct 12.
1. There are about _______________ species of bioluminescent beetles?
2. Most bioluminescence goes by a reaction of _________________ with an
enzyme generically called ___________ase.
3. List three components required for firefly bioluminescence.
______________________ ________________ ___________________
4.Explain the abbreviation CIEEL
___________ ________________ _____________ ___________
________________
5.In writing chemical mechanism for luminescent reactions, the asterisk symbol is used to indicate ____________ _______________ state.
6. To produce visible light, the amount of energy generated from the chemical reaction must be in the range _____ to ______ kcal/mol
7. The amount of energy corresponding to red light is less than for blue.
True or False? _______________
8. All fireflies produce yellow light, true or false? __________________
______________________________________________________________
Homework for November 2, 2004
The easiest way to do this excercise is to hit "reply", fill in the answer, then "send".
Return this homework by Midnight Nov2 to get an S grade.
DPC Module: "Bacterial Bioluminescence"
1. The three major genera for the bioluminescent bacteria are:
a. marine ____________________
b.marine ___________________
c. terrestial ________________
2. The DNA sequences encompassing the bacterial bioluminescence function are called
the _______ genes.
3. The substrates for bacterial luciferase are:
a.reduced _____________________
b. molecular _______________
c. long chain ____________________
4. Some bacterial bioluminescent systems employ additional proteins which change the color of the light:
a. ________________________ gives blue bioluminescence
b. _________________________ gives a yellow bioluminescence
5. Write one sentence to explain:
a. Autocatalysis
b. Autoinducer
c. Quorum sensing
d. Lux operon