ArticleBiology open2015
Fluorescent proteins function as a prey attractant: experimental evidence from the hydromedusa Olindias formosus and other marine organisms.
Article in Biology open, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 papers.
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Who cites it
29 citing papers in PubMed, 73 citations in OpenAlex.
- Anomalous photophysical behaviors attributed to excitonic coupling in fluorescent proteins.Biophysical journal · 2025Article
- Fluorescent Spider Silk: A Natural Phenomenon with Potential Applications.Journal of fluorescence · 2025Article
- Evidence for ecological tuning of anuran biofluorescent signals.Nature communications · 2024Article
- Fluorescent proteins generate a genetic color polymorphism and counteract oxidative stress in intertidal sea anemones.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2024Article
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- First record of biofluorescence in lumpfish (Cyclopterus lumpus), a commercially farmed cleaner fish.Journal of fish biology · 2022Article
- Producing fluorescent plants to lure and trap insect pests.Plant biotechnology journal · 2022Article
- Limited acclimation of early life stages of the coral Seriatopora hystrix from mesophotic depth to shallow reefs.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- Coral fluorescence: a prey-lure in deep habitats.Communications biology · 2022Article
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- Bright green fluorescence of Asian paper wasp nests.Journal of the Royal Society, Interface · 2021Article
- The evolution of siphonophore tentilla for specialized prey capture in the open ocean.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2021Article
- Neon-green fluorescence in the desert gecko Pachydactylus rangei caused by iridophores.Scientific reports · 2021Article
- Transcriptomic Analysis of Four Cerianthid (Cnidaria, Ceriantharia) Venoms.Marine drugs · 2020Article
- Spermcast mating with release of zygotes in the small dioecious bivalve Digitaria digitaria.Scientific reports · 2020Article
- Sea as a color palette: the ecology and evolution of fluorescence.Zoological letters · 2020Review
- Response of fluorescence morphs of the mesophotic coral Euphyllia paradivisa to ultra-violet radiation.Scientific reports · 2019Article
- Green fluorescence from cnidarian hosts attracts symbiotic algae.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2019Article
- Controlled iris radiance in a diurnal fish looking at prey.Royal Society open science · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Although proteins in the green fluorescent protein family (GFPs) have been discovered in a wide array of taxa, their ecological functions in these organisms remain unclear. Many hypothesized roles are related to modifying bioluminescence spectra or modulating the light regime for algal symbionts, but these do not explain the presence of GFPs in animals that are non-luminous and non-symbiotic. Other hypothesized functions are unrelated to the visual signals themselves, including stress responses and antioxidant roles, but these cannot explain the localization of fluorescence in particular structures on the animals. Here we tested the hypothesis that fluorescence might serve to attract prey. In laboratory experiments, the predator was the hydromedusa Olindias formosus (previously known as O. formosa), which has fluorescent and pigmented patches on the tips of its tentacles. The prey, juvenile rockfishes in the genus Sebastes, were significantly more attracted (P<1×10(-5)) to the medusa's tentacles under lighting conditions where fluorescence was excited and tentacle tips were visible above the background. The fish did not respond significantly when treatments did not include fluorescent structures or took place under yellow or white lights, which did not generate fluorescence visible above the ambient light. Furthermore, underwater observations of the behavior of fishes when presented with a brightly illuminated point showed a strong attraction to this visual stimulus. In situ observations also provided evidence for fluorescent lures as supernormal stimuli in several other marine animals, including the siphonophore Rhizophysa eysenhardti. Our results support the idea that fluorescent structures can serve as prey attractants, thus providing a potential function for GFPs and other fluorescent proteins in a diverse range of organisms.
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