Noctiluca

ByKaemonHeureux

Could you imagine going tothe beachatnightand luciferase, emits a light that can be seen from
finding that the waves radiated with blue light? afar.Scintillonsa relikefactoriesforlight.
There is a species that known as Noctiluca that
makes this dream possible. The noctiluca is a Noctiluca are both asexual and sexual
single celled organism that lives in coastal areas reproducers, which means that a noctiluca cell
near the beach. The noctiluca is shaped like a can multiply by itself or with a mate. It
balloon and has little strings on its body called reproduces by itself using a process called binary
cytoplasmic strands that originate from the fission, in which the cell splits in two and both
nucleus and run along the surface ofthe cell.Ina halves grow independently. Could you imagine
way it looks like a hand holding a bubble, except surviving being cut down the middle ofyourbody,
with like 30 fingers. Cytoplasmic strands are and then discovering that there are two of you.
pathways for the migration of nuclear energy, The cell duplicatesitsgenetic code sothatbothof
which means that they allow nuclear energy to the new cells are identical. Every organelle
move from one part of the cell to another. They becomes duplicated through the process of binary
are like veins, except they transport delicious fusion, even the nucleus splits in two. It is a true
radiationinsteadofblood. phenomenon that the cell starts the process with
one set of DNA, andatthe endthere are twosets
The noctiluca is responsible for a magical glow of DNA. The process that noctiluca goes through
that can be seen at night on the beach is some to produce sexualy, with a mate, is called
places in the world, because they are formation of isogametes. The formation of
bioluminescent. Bioluminescence isa processthat isogametes is a process ofreproductionmuchlike
an organism uses to glow in certain situations. the one that humans use,where the spermandthe
Regardless of the fact that this cell is mostly egg fuse to create the startofa person.The major
colorless, it produces a magnificent neon blue difference between our reproduction and that of
glow when it isagitated.The waythatitproduces the noctiluca is that instead of having two
this glow is using organelles called scintillons, completely different parts, (the sperm and egg)
which closely resemble a round paper Japanese the noctiluca produces only one type of
lantern. The scintillonscontaina compoundcalled reproducer, which fuses withthe otherreproducer
luciferin which, when oxidized by the enzyme that is the same as it. This means that noctiluca
don't have genders, they have it all figured out,
whichismorethanIc ansayforushumans.


Noctilucacellundera
microscope(left)



Scintillonunderelectron
microscope,coloredblue
(right)