Luminophores of the luminous fungus Neonothopanus nambi

Abstract

Isolation of luminophores from the mycelium of a luminous fungus Neonothopanus nambi is reported. In addition to the emission peak with a maximum at 520–530 nm (the wavelength of visible green light) that corresponded to the maximum of light emission by the fungus in vivo, the fluorescence spectra of the raw extracts contained a peak with a maximum in the visible blue-light range. The luminophore that emitted the blue light was an individual compound with a molecular weight of 894 Da. Calculations that took the isotope composition of chemical elements into account pointed at C₅₂H₆₅N₂O₁₁, C₅₁H₆₅N₄O₁₀, C₅₃H₆₁N₆O₇, C₄₇H₆₅N₄O₁₃, and C₄₆H₆₅N₆O₁₂ as the putative chemical formulae of the luminophore. A sample that contained substances of a yellow color was obtained; these substances emitted fluorescence at the wavelengths of green visible light. The luminophores in this sample probably included riboflavin or derivatives thereof (flavin mononucleotide or flavin adenine dinucleotide).