Preface

Bioluminescence, the “cold living light” or the “cold fire of the sea,” is extremely common in all oceans at all depths. However, this phenomenon is nearly absent in freshwater, with the exception of a freshwater limpet. More than 75% of deep-sea creatures have been reported to produce their own light. The luminescent marine plankton such as dinoflagellate, radiolarians, jellyfish, comb jellies, annelids, copepods, ostracods, mysids, amphipods, euphausiids, and tunicates form an important component in the marine food chain. Research on luminescent marine plankton is gaining momentum now-a-days owing to its importance in human health. The glowing Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) extracted from the North Pacific jellyfish, Aqueorea victoria (for which the Japanese biologist, Osamu Shimonmura won the Noble Prize in Chemistry in 2008) has helped shed light on key processes such as the spread of cancer, the development of brain cells, the growth of bacteria, damage to cells by Alzheimer's disease, and the development of insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. Furthermore, GFP has been “a guiding star for biochemists, biologists, medical scientists and other researchers” besides serving as an indispensable tool in cellular research and medicine. Recent research findings have also shown that the natural products of the bioluminescent marine plankton could be of great use in therapeutical and biotechnological applications. Further application of “bioluminescence imaging” has grown tremendously in the past decade, and it has significantly contributed to the core conceptual advances in biomedical research. This technology has provided valuable means for monitoring different biological processes for immunology, oncology, virology, and neuroscience. Bioluminescence imaging has also been successfully used to monitor infections caused by various microorganisms, particularly bacteria.

Though a few books are presently available on bioluminescence, a comprehensive volume dealing with the “Bioluminescent Marine Plankton ” has not so far been published. The first of its kind, this publication would answer this long-felt need. It deals with the chemistry of bioluminescence, types of bioluminescent displays, distribution of bioluminescence among marine plankton, ecological functions and uses/applications of planktonic bioluminescence; and the biology and ecology of about 200 species luminescent marine plankton of the different seas. It is hoped that the present publication, when brought out, would be of great use as a standard text-cum-reference for teachers, students, and researchers of various disciplines such as Marine Biology, Fisheries Science, and Environmental Sciences; and as a valuable reference for libraries of colleges and universities.

I am highly indebted to Dr. K.Venkataramanujam, former Dean of Fisheries College and Research Institute, and the Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, in Thoothukudi, India, for his valued comments and suggestions on the manuscript. I sincerely thank all my international friends who were kind enough to share their images for the present publication. The services viz. photography and secretarial assistance rendered by Mrs.Albin Panimalar Ramesh are also gratefully acknowledged.