These sharks have a unique ability to glow green

Deep ocean bottom exists some species of shark that are able to turn the blue light of the ocean into a bright green color that only sharks can see; however, the way they are bioluminescent has always been a mystery.

According to a new published study published in iScience, the researchers have identified the agent that creates the bright green color of sharks: a group of previously unknown small molecular metabolites. here. This bioluminescence mechanism is not only different from the glowing mechanism of most marine organisms, but also serves many other useful roles for sharks, which can include helping them to recognize each other in ocean and anti-bacterial infection.

Cat shark sharks.

David Gruber, a professor at New York City University and co-author of the study, said: 'Studying bioluminescence in the ocean is like a mysterious novel that never stops. development, the more research, the more new evidence. After first discovering the glowing Swell shark, my colleagues and I decided to go into this issue. We want to learn more about the meaning of bioluminescence for sharks. '

Gruber and Jason Crawford - Yale University professor, co-author of the study - focused on studying two shark species, Swell sharks and chain cat sharks (Scyliorhinus rotifer dottedyeti) . They realized that the skin of these two sharks has two tones - bright and dark. They extracted the chemicals found on both skin types and discovered a fluorescent molecule that only exists in light-colored skin.

Gruber said: 'The interesting part of this study is the completely new form of marine marine bioluminescence - a form based on small molecule metabolites tryptophan - kynurenine ".

These small molecular metabolites are known as fluorescence . They are triggers that are similar to the processes that occur in other vertebrate animals - playing an important role in the central nervous system and the immune system. But in these two shark species, novel small-molecule fluorescence causes the physiological and spectral properties of lighter skin. This mechanism differs from the animals that live in the upper part of the ocean such as jellyfish and corals - species that often use green fluorescent proteins as a mechanism to turn ocean blue light into other colors.

Crawford also said: 'It is a completely different system that makes all sharks can see each other and others cannot. They have a completely different view of the world they live on because of the bioluminescent properties their skin has and their eyes can recognize. Imagine I'm green but only you can see me green while others can't try. '

Molecules also play many other roles, including helping sharks identify each other in the ocean and helping them to fight bacterial infections.

'Interestingly, these bioluminescent molecules have antimicrobial properties. These cat sharks live on the ocean floor, but we have not found any developing biological infections, which has demonstrated another great characteristic of shark skin. "This study opens up new questions regarding the potential function of bioluminescence in central nervous system signaling, recovery from bacterial infection and photovoltaic protection," Gruber said.

Although research focuses on two types of sharks, Gruber and Crawford still hope to expand further into understanding the luminescence and bioluminescent properties of marine life, eventually leading to developing new imaging techniques.

Crawford said: 'If you can harness the possibilities that marine life has to produce light, you can create molecular systems for taking photos in the laboratory or in medicine. Image is an extremely important biomedical goal, but studying these types of systems can help promote the future. '

'Sharks are magical creatures that have existed for more than 400 million years. Enchanted shark people and they hold a lot of mysteries and super powers. "This research uncovers another secret of sharks and I hope this will inspire us to learn more about them, better protect them, " Gruber said.

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