By: Murad Jah

My name is Murad, and I am an undergraduate student at USC. After living my entire life in London, UK, I moved to California to study its beautiful environment and hope to pursue a career in Environmental Law after my education is complete. I love being able to take the specificity of science and mixing it with the science that is law. With everything I learn in this new chapter of my life, including this summer research, I hope to make a difference in the world and use my knowledge to protect the planet we live in.

This summer I am working with Lisa Mesrop, who is a part of Dr. Todd Oakley’s lab at UCSB. Through this research I get to work with some of the coolest organisms I have studied, and I am lucky enough to understand further one of the world’s most beautiful phenomenon: bioluminescence. We are studying bioluminescent ostracods, also known as “sea fireflies”, and analysing where in their history they diverged from non-bioluminescent ostracods and the new specialized cells they had to develop in order to secrete bioluminescent mucus. There is prior knowledge about various ostracods and about bioluminescence as a whole, yet there are many gaps in our knowledge on bioluminescent ostracods. My aim for this summer is to contribute as much as I can to filling these gaps!

Ostracod secreting bioluminescent mucus.

One of the largest gaps in our knowledge when it comes to the sea fireflies is located anterior to its head and it is a complex organ called the upper lip. We know very little about the upper lip. The upper lip is where the ostracod secretes its bioluminescent mucus and it is believed that the luciferin (substrate) and luciferase (enzyme), which are needed to create the chemical reaction that causes bioluminescence, are stored in the upper lip. The mucus is where the enzyme and substrate bind extracellularly to create the lovely blue light we see. Through studying the ostracod’s phylogeny and general history we will be able to contribute to the greater understanding of complex the upper lip.

Ostracod secreting bioluminescent mucus with upper lip organ highlighted by red circle anterior to the mouth.

After having on of my favourite experiences at Wrigley during my Marine Biology class, it was very upsetting not being able to return because of COVID-19. How ever that shan’t stop me from working hard to contribute to science as much as possible and keep learning. I will definitely miss photographing the bison roaming the land around Wrigley!

A picture I took of a bison having lunch on Catalina, before this summer.