| Summary: | Myctophidae comprise the largest biomass of mesopelagic fishes in the Southern Ocean. This family has the ability to emit light – bioluminescence – via specific organs called photophores, and from the head and caudal organs. Through biochemical analyses, this study reveals that coelenterazine is the substrate for light reaction in the five most common myctophid species from the Southern Ocean. The results also support the hypothesis of the acquisition of this molecule via the food chain and reveal the presence of two stabilised storage forms of coelenterazine (enol-sulfate and dehydrocoelenterazine) within various tissues of the studied species. Finally, detection of coelenterazine in the gonads also suggests the potential maternal transfer of the bioluminescence capability to the offspring.
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