Conjugated Dienoic Acid Peroxides as Substrates in Chaetopterus Bioluminescence System

Biochemistry of bioluminescence of the marine parchment tubeworm has been in research focus for over a century; however, the results obtained by various groups contradict each other. Here, we report the isolation and structural elucidation of three compounds from algae, which demonstrate bioluminescence activity with luciferase in the presence of Fe ions. These compounds are derivatives of polyunsaturated fatty acid peroxides. We have also obtained their structural analogues and demonstrated their activity in the bioluminescence reaction, thus confirming the broad substrate specificity of the luciferase.