The Emerging Use of In Vivo Optical Imaging in the Study of Neurodegenerative Diseases

Table 1

Commonly used luciferase reporter systems. Information on some of the available luciferases for use in in vivo optical imaging experiments, including sources, emission wavelengths, substrates, and selective advantages for each.

Source	Emission wavelength (nm)	Substrate	Advantages
Bacteria; (Vibrio and Photobacterium species)	478–545; (dependent on species)	FMNH2 + O2 + long chain fatty aldehyde	Exogenous substrate not required
Firefly; (Photinus pyralis)	560	D-luciferin + ATP + O2	Most commonly used and modified for red-shifted emission
Sea pansy; (Renilla reniformis)	480	Coelenterazine + O2	Different substrate allows multiplexing with firefly luciferase
Copepods; (Gaussia princeps and others)	470	Coelenterazine + O2	Small size and secreted
Deep-sea shrimp; (Oplophorus gracilirostris)	460	Furimazine + O2	Small size and secreted