Discoveries from genetic and fossil analyses suggest that over 500 million years ago, the mysterious depths of the ocean were illuminated by the enchanting glow of bioluminescent corals. This groundbreaking research, published on April 24 in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, pushes back the origins of bioluminescence by nearly 300 million years. Danielle DeLeo, an integrative biologist at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., describes this as the oldest documented evidence of bioluminescence on Earth, surpassing the previous record set by the ancestor of sea fireflies 267 million years ago.
DeLeo and her team delved into the evolution of bioluminescence within a subgroup of corals known as octocorals, which includes soft corals, sea pens, and sea fans. These deep-sea dwellers with 8-fold symmetry often exhibit luminosity. By analyzing the DNA of 185 octocoral species, the researchers identified genetic similarities to construct an evolutionary tree illustrating the relationships between species. Fossil evidence was then used to estimate when lineages diverged. Through this comprehensive approach, the team determined that the ancestor of all octocorals was bioluminescent, dating back approximately 540 million years.
2024-04-23 18:01:00
Source: www.sciencenews.org