About this Research Topic
At times in which our planet is undergoing a major environmental crisis, including the emergence of a pandemic that threatens humanity, novel indicators of biological and environmental integrity are on demand. Bioluminescence, the emission of visible light by living organisms has long called the attention of scientists and has been extensively recruited for bioanalytical purposes in the past 50 years. The luciferins, luciferases, and photoproteins have been used as bioanalytical reagents, whereas the genes that code for luciferases and photoproteins have been used as bioluminescent reporters to investigate living cells, biological and pathological processes. Bioluminescence is being used in many biomedical applications such as bioimaging and tracking cells, metastases, pathogenic virus in laboratory animal models and cell culture, and in environmental analysis including biosensors. The discovery and engineering of new luciferin/luciferase systems, is propelling the development of novel bioluminescent technologies which are helping to investigate and assess cells, organisms, and the environment, including non-invasive real-time imaging of intracellular processes, cell and pathogen tracking in animal models, and cell cultures and the development of HTS assays, and novel cost-effective field biosensors for medical and environmental purposes. In this collection, we welcome original research articles and reviews on the recent advances and the latest developments of biotechnologies using novel bioluminescence.
This Research Topic encourage submissions addressing, but are not limited to the following:
• Protein engineering and optimization for biotechnological applications
• Bioluminescence imaging of intracellular and extracellular biological and pathological processes (novel reporter genes, ratiometric bioluminescent analysis, BRET assays)
• Bioluminescence tracking of viral and bacterial infections (emerging viruses, HTS bioluminescent assays)
• Bioluminescent biosensors for metals, environmental disruptors
• Novel bioanalytical reagents
This Research Topic encourage submissions addressing, but are not limited to the following:
• Protein engineering and optimization for biotechnological applications
• Bioluminescence imaging of intracellular and extracellular biological and pathological processes (novel reporter genes, ratiometric bioluminescent analysis, BRET assays)
• Bioluminescence tracking of viral and bacterial infections (emerging viruses, HTS bioluminescent assays)
• Bioluminescent biosensors for metals, environmental disruptors
• Novel bioanalytical reagents
Keywords: Luciferases, luciferin analogs, bioluminescence, biosensors. Bioindicators, bioimaging, pH, metals
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
