Ecology, Environment and Conservation Paper

THE 1313BP LUCIFERASE GENE SEQUENCE IN DIAPHANES JAVANUS

R. Puspitaningrum, A. Izzatii, A. Supiyani and R. Amelia

Abstract

Fireflies use a characteristic communication using light in their mating process. The light is produced by peroxisomes in photocytes which contain the luciferase enzyme. The luciferase enzyme is regulated by the luciferase gene (LUC). The luciferase gene is an important element that is currently being developed as a bioindicator and biosensor. This study aimed to obtain the gene sequence for luciferase and discover the percentage of similarity between the luciferase gene from Diaphanes javanus Gorham and gene bank reference fireflies. The study employed a descriptive analysis method. The data collected were in the form of single electrogram bands, chromatogram sequences and percentages of similarity. The results of the isolation, restriction and amplification of the luciferase gene produced a single band and nucleotide readings which were at a length of 1313pb. The luciferase contig sequence for Diaphanes javanus was compared to the with the gene bank reference sequence. The highest similarity of the luciferase gene in Diaphanes javanus was shown by Diaphanes pectinealis at 98% with the number of genes successfully isolated 67% of the total luciferase gene. The lowest similarity rate was 64% when compared to Photuris pennsylvanica. The similarity rate can help determine the direction of the development of the Diaphanes javanus Gorham luciferase gene in Indonesia.