The reaction of cypridina luciferin with azide

✍ Scribed by Chase, Aurin M.

• Publisher: Wiley (John Wiley & Sons)
• Year: 1942
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 498 KB
• Volume: 19
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0095-9898
• DOI: 10.1002/jcp.1030190206

✦ Synopsis

T W O FIGURES

Sodiuni azide is known to inhibit a number of reactions involving enzynies (e.g. : Keilin, '33, '36 ; Stannard, '39 ; Armstrong and Fisher, '40). Giese and Fisher (unpublished data) have found that the luminescence of a species of luminous bacteria is depressed by sodium azide and this observation led to the present study of the effect of azide on the luminescent reaction of Cypridina luciferin and luciferase. These substances can be readily extracted from the luminous gland of the animal and purified to a considerable degree. Since this particular luminescent reaction is probably not different essentially from the same basic reaction in bacteria and is not complicated by the presence of other enzyme systems, it seemed likely that if it were inhibited by azide the site of the inhibitionwhether upon the enzyme or substratemight be determined and the mechanism of the inhibition possibly elucidated.

MATEBIALS AND METHODS

The luciferin that was used in these experiments was extracted from dried Cypridina hilgendorfii by the method of Anderson ('35). Material that had been carried through two cycles of purification was used.