Microorganisms 2013, 1, 3-25; doi:10.3390/microorganisms1010003 OPEN ACCESS microorganisms ISSN 2076-2607 www.mdpi.com/journal/microorganisms Review Understanding Bioluminescence in Dinoflagellates—How Far Have We Come? Martha Valiadi 1,* and Debora Iglesias-Rodriguez 2 1 Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, August-Thienemann-Strasse, Plӧn 24306, Germany 2 Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA; E-Mail:
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[email protected]; Tel.: +49-4522-763277; Fax: +49-4522-763310. Received: 3 May 2013; in revised form: 20 August 2013 / Accepted: 24 August 2013 / Published: 5 September 2013 Abstract: Some dinoflagellates possess the remarkable genetic, biochemical, and cellular machinery to produce bioluminescence. Bioluminescent species appear to be ubiquitous in surface waters globally and include numerous cosmopolitan and harmful taxa. Nevertheless, bioluminescence remains an enigmatic topic in biology, particularly with regard to the organisms’ lifestyle. In this paper, we review the literature on the cellular mechanisms, molecular evolution, diversity, and ecology of bioluminescence in dinoflagellates, highlighting significant discoveries of the last quarter of a century. We identify significant gaps in our knowledge and conflicting information and propose some important research questions