The Photinini are a large
tribe
The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to confli ...
of
fireflies
The Lampyridae are a family of elateroid beetles with more than 2,000 described species, many of which are light-emitting. They are soft-bodied beetles commonly called fireflies, lightning bugs, or glowworms for their conspicuous production ...
in the
subfamily Lampyrinae
The Lampyrinae are a large subfamily of fireflies (Lampyridae). The exact delimitation, and the internal systematics, have until recently been a matter of debate; for long this group was used as a " wastebin taxon" to hold any fireflies with insu ...
. ''
Photinus pyralis
''Photinus pyralis'', known by the common names common eastern firefly and big dipper firefly, is the most common species of firefly in North America. ''P. pyralis'' is a flying and light-producing beetle with a light organ on the ventral side of ...
'' is famous in
biotechnology
Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used ...
for its
luciferase gene
In biology, the word gene (from , ; "... Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a b ...
. This is sometimes employed as a
marker gene In biology, a marker gene may have several meanings. In nuclear biology and molecular biology, a marker gene is a gene used to determine if a nucleic acid sequence has been successfully inserted into an organism's DNA. In particular, there are t ...
;
genetically modified organisms
A genetically modified organism (GMO) is any organism whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques. The exact definition of a genetically modified organism and what constitutes genetic engineering varies, with ...
which contain it start to
glow like the firefly when brought in contact with a
luciferin
Luciferin (from the Latin ''lucifer'', "light-bearer") is a generic term for the light-emitting compound found in organisms that generate bioluminescence. Luciferins typically undergo an enzyme-catalyzed reaction with molecular oxygen. The resul ...
-containing medium. Firefly luciferases differ slightly between
taxa
In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular nam ...
, resulting in differently colored light and other properties, and in most cases where "firefly luciferase" is used in some application or study, it is the specific luciferase of ''
P. pyralis''.
Systematics
The group has recently been examined using molecular phylogenetics, using fairly comprehensive sampling.
Genera
* ''
Ankonophallus''
Zaragoza-Caballero & Navarrete-Heredia, 2014
* ''
Aorphallus''
Zaragoza-Caballero & Gutierrez-Carranza, 2018
* ''
Callopisma''
Motschulsky, 1853
* ''
Calotrechelum''
Pic, 1930
* ''
Dadophora''
Olivier, 1907
* ''
Dilychnia''
Motschulsky, 1853
* ''
Ellychnia''
LeConte, 1851
* ''
Erythrolychnia''
Motschulsky, 1853
* ''
Heterophotinus''
Olivier, 1894
* ''
Jamphotus''
Barber, 1941
* ''
Lucidina''
Gorham, 1883
* ''
Lucidota
''Lucidota'' is a genus of fireflies in the beetle family Lampyridae
The Lampyridae are a family of elateroid beetles with more than 2,000 described species, many of which are light-emitting. They are soft-bodied beetles commonly called ...
''
Laporte, 1833
* ''
Lucidotopsis''
McDermott, 1960
* ''
Luciuranus''
Silveira, Khattar & Mermudes, 2016
* ''
Macrolampis''
Motschulsky, 1853
* ''
Microdiphot''
Barber, 1941
* ''
Mimophotinus''
Pic, 1935
* ''
Oliviereus''
Pic, 1930
* ''
Phosphaenopterus''
Schaufuss, 1870
* ''
Phosphaenus''
Fourcroy, 1785
* ''
Photinoides''
McDermott, 1963
* ''
Photinus
Photinus (Greek Φωτεινός; died 376), was a Christian bishop of Sirmium in Pannonia Secunda (today the town Sremska Mitrovica in Serbia), best known for denying the incarnation of Christ, thus being considered a heresiarch by the Catholic C ...
''
Laporte, 1833 – rover fireflies (possibly paraphyletic)
* ''
Platylampis''
Motschulsky, 1853
* ''
Pseudolychnuris''
Motschulsky, 1853
* ''
Pyropyga
''Pyropyga'' is a genus of fireflies in the beetle family Lampyridae. There are about 13 described species in ''Pyropyga''. It is among the genera of Lampyridae where both sexes of adults have no bioluminescent
Bioluminescence is the prod ...
''
Motschulsky, 1852
* ''
Pyropygodes''
Zaragoza-Caballero, 2000
* ''
Robopus''
Motschulsky, 1853
* ''
Rufolychnia''
Kazantsev, 2006
* ''
Uanauna''
Campello-Gonçalves, Souto, Mermudes & Silviera, 2019
* ''
Ybytyramoan''
Silveira & Mermudes, 2014
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q7187628
Lampyridae
Beetle tribes