Glow for ... to be eaten

The glowing glowing bacteria in the dark are not attending the Halloween festival, but to fulfill the suicide mission.

Many sea creatures emit biological light. This phenomenon, called bioluminescence, was observed in some marine bacteria. These bacteria emit a stable light source whenever they reach a certain concentration of organic particles in seawater.

Although this is a known phenomenon, the benefits of glowing have not been clearly defined. Now, researchers from the Hebrew University (Israel) have found the reason. Research results show that light generated by bacteria attracts predators , usually zooplankton, that eat these bacteria but cannot digest them. These bacteria continue to glow in the belly of zooplankton, 'denouncing' the presence of this creature. The consequence of 'exposing' is that the zooplankton are attacked by predators, in this case, fish.

A plankton after eating bacteria - (Photo: Science Daily)

In many tests conducted in completely dark environments, the team found that nocturnal fish species can easily detect glowing zooplankton and re-feed them. Meanwhile, fish are not attracted by zooplankton that have swallowed the altered bacteria and therefore do not glow. Continuing to study the plankton-eating fishes, the researchers found that the glowing bacteria even survived the gut of the fish.

According to experts, the fact that some zooplankton are attracted to the glow of bacteria seems to be contrary to their survival instincts, as it increases the risk of being attacked and eaten. Zooplankton 'know' a ray of light in the water will signal the presence of the organic material they want to eat. 'In the dark in the deep sea there is little food, so the risk of zooplankton is glowing when eating glowing bacteria,' said Professor Amatzia Genin, a member of the research team.