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Firefly luciferase

Luciferase is the enzyme that makes a firefly's tail glow. It helps a chemical called luciferin react with oxygen, using ATP fuel, and that reaction gives off light.

Firefly luciferase: its AlphaFold model, drawn in one colour
Picture, in one colour: AlphaFold DB model v6 for UniProt P08659, from Fold Commons' snapshot of 2026-10-22. A prediction, not an experiment.

See it in 3D

Fun fact

Firefly light comes from a chemical reaction. In 2008, careful measurements found that about 41 of every 100 of these reactions give off light. Earlier estimates were much higher.

Words to know

NGSS alignment

Structure

Rendered in FoldLens Junior from AlphaFold Database entry P08659. See the underlying prediction at alphafold.ebi.ac.uk/entry/P08659.

For teachers and platforms

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