| lucifer | 1. The planet Venus, when appearing as the morning star; applied in Isaiah by a metaphor to a king of Babylon. "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning ! how art thou cut down to the ground which didst weaken the nations !" (Is. Xiv. 12) "Tertullian and Gregory the Great understood this passage of Isaiah in reference to the fall of Satan; in consequence of which the name Lucifer has since been applied to, Satan." (Kitto) 2. Hence, Satan. "How wretched Is that poor man that hangs on princes' favors! . . . When he falls, he falls like Lucifer, Never to hope again." (Shak) 3. A match made of a sliver of wood tipped with a combustible substance, and ignited by friction; called also lucifer match, and locofoco. See Locofoco. 4. <zoology> A genus of free-swimming macruran Crustacea, having a slender body and long appendages. Origin: L, bringing light, the morning star, fr. Lux, lucis, light + ferre to bring. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
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| luciferase | <enzyme> An enzyme from firefly tails that catalyses the production of light in the reaction between luciferin and ATP. Used by the male firefly for producing light to attract females and used in the laboratory in a chemiluminescence bioassay for ATP. (18 Nov 1997) |
| luciferases | Enzymes present in certain luminous organisms that act to bring about the oxidation of luciferins; energy produced in the process is liberated as bioluminescence; such enzymes can be used to detect very low concentrations of metabolites. Origin: L. Lux, light + fero, to bear (05 Mar 2000) |
| luciferin | <protein> Substrate for the enzyme luciferase that catalyses an oxidative reaction leading to photon emission (bioluminescence). (18 Nov 1997) |
| luciferins | A generic term referring to a substrate which, upon oxidation by the enzyme luciferase, produces bioluminescence. Luciferins isolated from different species may vary greatly in structure, although in many cases identical structures have been found in widely diverse animals. The american firefly, photinus pyralis, and its substrate have been studied extensively and is used in the assay of adenosine triphosphate. (12 Dec 1998) |
| luciferyl adenylate | An intermediate compound in the pathway of bioluminescence. Its precursor is the pigment luciferin. It is the substrate of the enzyme luciferase, which combines it with oxygen to make visible light. (09 Oct 1997) |