Also: anglerfish lure, Hawaiian bobtail squid, Vibrio fischeri, Aliivibrio fischeri, counterillumination, countershading
Some animals glow using light-producing bacteria they host, like the deep-sea anglerfish's lure and the Hawaiian bobtail squid's light organ. Many midwater animals use light on their bellies to erase their shadow, called counterillumination.
Values as stated in the cited paper's abstract.
| Property | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Anglerfish symbiont genome size vs free-living relatives | ~50% smaller | Hendry 2018 |
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Nyholm and McFall-Ngai reviewed how the Hawaiian bobtail squid selects the glowing bacterium Vibrio fischeri from seawater to colonize its light organ.
As reported in: Nyholm, McFall-Ngai (2004). The winnowing: establishing the squid–vibrio symbiosis. Nature Reviews Microbiology. doi:10.1038/nrmicro957
Abstract only
Hendry and colleagues sequenced the bacteria living in the lures of deep-sea anglerfishes and found their genomes are about 50% smaller than free-living relatives, with losses suggesting they are becoming dependent on their host.
As reported in: Hendry, Freed, Fader et al. (2018). Ongoing Transposon-Mediated Genome Reduction in the Luminous Bacterial Symbionts of Deep-Sea Ceratioid Anglerfishes. mBio. doi:10.1128/mbio.01033-18
Jones and Nishiguchi found the light from the bobtail squid's bacterial light organ tracks the brightness of light from above, suggesting the squid use and control Vibrio fischeri light for counterillumination.
As reported in: Jones, Nishiguchi (2004). Counterillumination in the Hawaiian bobtail squid, Euprymna scolopes Berry (Mollusca: Cephalopoda). Marine Biology. doi:10.1007/s00227-003-1285-3
Abstract only
Young and Roper showed midwater squid switch on downward-facing light organs under overhead light and become invisible when their glow matches it, strongly supporting the countershading theory.
As reported in: Young, Roper (1976). Bioluminescent Countershading in Midwater Animals: Evidence from Living Squid. Science. doi:10.1126/science.1251214
Abstract only