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Jack-o'-lantern mushroom: Difference between revisions
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→Bioluminescence
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== Bioluminescence == | == Bioluminescence == | ||
[[Image:Glowing jack o' lantern mushroom.jpg|thumb|150px|left|A jack-o'-lantern | [[Image:Glowing jack o' lantern mushroom.jpg|thumb|150px|left|A group of jack-o'-lantern mushrooms glowing in the dark]] | ||
The jack-o'-lantern mushroom's most notable characteristic is its ability to glow in the dark. This uncommon trait is called [[bioluminescence]], and is thought to be caused by the same enzymes used by fireflies. These enzymes are a mix of [[luciferin]] and [[luciferase]] that make the [[gills]] of the mushroom glow an eerie green color in total darkness. As long as the mushroom has water and oxygen, it can glow forever. Scientists aren't quite sure why these mushrooms (and a few others) glow in the dark, because there is no notable advantage to the organism itself. <ref>Unknown. [http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/07/110706154213.htm Mushroom Lights Up the Night in Brazil: Researcher Finds Bioluminescent Fungus Not Seen Since 1840] ''ScienceDaily''. Web. July 7, 2011 (Date-of-Publication). </ref> | The jack-o'-lantern mushroom's most notable characteristic is its ability to glow in the dark. This uncommon trait is called [[bioluminescence]], and is thought to be caused by the same enzymes used by fireflies. These enzymes are a mix of [[luciferin]] and [[luciferase]] that make the [[gills]] of the mushroom glow an eerie green color in total darkness. As long as the mushroom has water and oxygen, it can glow forever. Scientists aren't quite sure why these mushrooms (and a few others) glow in the dark, because there is no notable advantage to the organism itself. <ref>Unknown. [http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/07/110706154213.htm Mushroom Lights Up the Night in Brazil: Researcher Finds Bioluminescent Fungus Not Seen Since 1840] ''ScienceDaily''. Web. July 7, 2011 (Date-of-Publication). </ref> | ||
