Reflector of the body photophore in lanternfish is mechanistically tuned to project the biochemical emission in photocytes for counterillumination.

Lanternfish, a family Myctophidae, use ventro-lateral body photophores for camouflage of the ventral silhouette, a strategy called counterillumination. While other deep-sea fishes possess pigmented filters and silver reflectors to match sunlight filtering down through the depths, myctophids developed a blue-green reflector for this purpose. In this study, we showed in a lanternfish Diaphus watasei that the reflector comprised monolayered iridophores containing multilayered guanine crystals which enable high reflection with light interference colouration. Platelets shape in body photophores is an unique near-regular hexagonal, probably to allow the homogeneity of reflection angle of the luminescence from photocytes. Focus point of the parabola-like reflector is positioned on the photocytes that ensures the light produced from the photocytes is redirected to the ventral direction. In vitro luminescence reaction using purified luciferase and the substrate coelenterazine showed the light emission at λmax 454 nm, while reflection spectra of the iridophores exhibit peaks at longer wavelength, which accomplish to alter the luminescence emitted from photocytes to longer wavelength to fit the mesopelagic light environment. Taken together, we revealed multiple mechanistic elaborations in myctophid body photophores to achieve effective control of biochemical luminescence for counterillumination.

Immobilization of methylviologen between well-ordered multilayers of manganese oxide during their electrochemical assembly.

Methylviologen dications (MV2+) were immobilized between layers of manganese oxide during their electrochemical assembly by an anodic route in a homogeneous aqueous Mn2+ solution. This approach yielded a well-ordered multilayer film on a platinum substrate as a result of dense packing of planar MV2+ molecules to stabilize the layered framework. A grazing angle in-plane X-ray diffraction study revealed that the manganese oxide sheets and the molecular planes of inserted MV2+ ions are oriented parallel to the electrode surface. Cyclic voltammetry of the product film indicated an electron transfer from the underlying Pt substrate to inserted methylviologen ions through the manganese oxide sheets.