Ultra-weak photon emissions product of induced stress in Pterogorgia anceps

The ultra-weak photon emissions or the "biophoton" emission is a phenomenon in which all living organisms radiate photons involuntarily at an intensity in which humans cannot perceive. Biophoton emissions were first discovered in 1923, but only recently the most proper investigations have arose. Since its discovery it has been said that biophoton emissions have multiple applications, but even nowadays there is more questions than answers with respect to biophotons. The following article aims to explore the ultra-weak photon emissions in the coral Pterogorgia anceps as there has never been registers of biophoton emissions in corals. Biophotons seem to be related to the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and is for this reason that it is expected that biophotons are also produced by corals. Additionally, it is well known that when physical or chemical factors that produce stress in corals are induced the production of reactive oxygen species starts to increase. These stress-associated ROS production may eventually lead corals to diseases, pathogens or even bleaching. Furthermore, if biophotons are associated to coral stress, biophotons could be used in the future as a new alternative to study the conservation of coralline ecosystems. For this experiment, in order to induce physical stress in a Pterogorgia anceps individual, it has been proposed to injure (cut) an apical segment of the coral and record its biophoton emissions. By comparing the biophoton emissions of Arabidopsis sp. and Pterogorgia anceps we found that biophoton in corals are much lower and vanish more rapidly in time. Our results give rise to a new question: Is there an additional mechanism in corals that diminishes the biophotons that corals are able to emit? Or was it necessary to use a better equipment in order to better record biophoton emissions in corals?

• Autores: Torres Díaz, Daniela
• Tipo de recurso: Trabajo de grado de pregrado
• Fecha de publicación: 2017
• Institución: Universidad de los Andes
• Repositorio: Séneca: repositorio Uniandes
• Idioma: eng
• OAI Identifier: oai:repositorio.uniandes.edu.co:1992/61552
• Acceso en línea: http://hdl.handle.net/1992/61552
• Palabra clave: Corales; Emisión de fotones; Estrés oxidativo; Fotobiología
• Rights: openAccess
• License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/