Newly discovered gene may give 'sea pickles' their glow

(American Museum of Natural History) A new study describes a bioluminescent gene that could be the reason that so-called 'sea pickles,' or pyrosomes, an underwater free-floating colony of thousands of tiny animals, reverberate in blue-green light. If confirmed, the finding would be the first bioluminescent gene identified from a chordate--the group that includes all vertebrates as well as a couple types of invertebrates: sea squirts (including pyrosomes) and lancelets.

Source: EurekAlert! - Biology - October 20, 2020 Category: Biology Source Type: news