Review of Bioluminescence for Engineers and Scientists in Biophotonics

Different light producing chemical systems isolated from organisms such as fireflies, jellyfish, copepods, and bacteria have been harnessed to illuminate the inner workings of cells, as a reporter to map and identify genes, as a powerful means of tracking the progression of diseases in animal models and as a tool for mapping pollution in ecosystems. In this review we provide an overview of bioluminescence with the focus on the extreme diversity of chemistries, their evolutionary origins and functions, how they have been applied in biophotonics and possible new applications in the future.