How to Use luciferase in a Sentence

luciferase

noun
  • For the creation researchers used luciferase, the same enzyme that gives fireflies their glow.
    — Emily Price, Fortune, 15 Dec. 2017
  • Frank Swain writes about glowing trees, engineered with a gene called luciferase.
    — Ed Yong, Discover Magazine, 27 Nov. 2010
  • And how did this whole luciferase in Covid-19 vaccines claim even get started?
    — Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes, 3 Nov. 2021
  • Its enzyme luciferase acts upon a compound called luciferin to emit light, much as fireflies do.
    — Ellen Nibali, baltimoresun.com, 29 Oct. 2020
  • Most deep-sea anglerfish lures glow with light that is generated by an enzyme called luciferase.
    — Jocelyn Rice, Discover Magazine, 27 Sep. 2010
  • One type of cell in the gland secretes a luciferase enzyme, while a second type of cell secretes the substrate vargulin.
    — Quanta Magazine, 16 Aug. 2021
  • The firefly gene that codes for luciferase is very similar to a common fatty acid-making gene, Lewis says.
    — Liz Langley, National Geographic, 2 July 2016
  • Presumably the first luciferin-luciferase pair would have survived and multiplied.
    — Quanta Magazine, 1 Dec. 2016
  • At that point, the enzyme luciferase (also seen in fireflies) kickstarts a reaction that results in emission of a green glow.
    — Michael Irving, New Atlas, 1 Dec. 2024
  • Oxygen combines with chemicals called luciferin and luciferase to generate light with almost no heat.
    — USA Today, 2 June 2023
  • One main component involved in producing light in corals and other animals is an enzyme called luciferase.
    — Discover Magazine, 19 June 2024
  • Similarly, luciferase enzymes have very little to do with Lucifer.
    — Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes, 3 Nov. 2021
  • To turn leaves into a light source, Strano uses luciferase, the enzyme responsible for a firefly’s glow.
    — Mark Ellwood, WSJ, 15 May 2018
  • In fireflies, luciferase binds to another chemical called luciferin, which causes a reaction that emits light.
    — Avery Thompson, Popular Mechanics, 14 Dec. 2017
  • Wright was open to dialogue about her stance, and noted that people have a right to question what goes into their bodies and also expressed concerns about the enzyme luciferase.
    — Brooklyn White, Essence, 4 Dec. 2020
  • The fireflies were then ground up for its enzymes luciferin and luciferase, which give it its bioluminescent capabilities.
    — Dan Radel, USA TODAY, 1 Aug. 2019
  • The pseudoviruses also contain an enzyme called luciferase, which is what makes fireflies glow, and which helps researchers track the antibodies’ effects on the pseudovirus.
    — Peter Loftus, WSJ, 8 Dec. 2021
  • So do Covid-19 vaccines have either luciferase or luciferins as Robinson suggested?
    — Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes, 3 Nov. 2021
  • Every organism has its own version of luciferin and luciferase, with individual properties that could prove useful.
    — Joanna Klein, The Seattle Times, 4 May 2017
  • Arayomi also questioned the name of an enzyme used in the research process, luciferase, due to his religious studies and the history of the name Lucifer.
    — Brooklyn White, Essence, 4 Dec. 2020
  • The mentality that fed the luciferase tweet, however, remains accessible.
    — Washington Post, 2 Nov. 2021
  • While the mushrooms normally appear green, the researchers could produce different colors by reacting different compounds with luciferase.
    — Nathaniel Scharping, Discover Magazine, 28 Apr. 2017
  • Bioluminescence is produced naturally when oxygen reacts with a substance called luciferin, with the help of an enzyme called luciferase, to produce energy in the form of light.
    — WIRED, 19 Sep. 2023
  • The process requires not only the synthesis of specialized chemicals like luciferin and luciferase but also the energy to fuel the light-producing reaction.
    — Scott Travers, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024
  • Just as in all bioluminescent organisms, the enzyme luciferase interacts with the compound luciferin to create light among the octocorals.
    — Riley Black, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 Apr. 2024
  • The luciferase catalyzes the oxidation of luciferin, producing blue light, which GFP then absorbs and re-emits as green fluorescence.
    — Samantha Agate, Charlotte Observer, 23 Apr. 2026
  • Like many bioluminescent animals their light is created by a reaction between the light-emitting molecule luciferin and the enzyme luciferase.
    — National Geographic, 30 June 2018
  • Three chemicals -- luciferase, luciferin and ATP -- combine to produce the firefly's characteristic glow.
    — Karen Farkas, cleveland.com, 24 July 2017
  • Inside certain cells of bioluminescent organisms an enzyme called luciferase catalyzes a light-producing reaction between a pigment called luciferin and oxygen.
    — Ferris Jabr, Scientific American, 5 Aug. 2010
  • Most bioluminescent organisms, including fireflies, get their glow from a chemical reaction between the enzyme luciferase and a molecule called luciferin.
    — Leah Shaffer, Discover Magazine, 21 Jan. 2015

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'luciferase.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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