Bioluminescence is the production of light by living organisms, including bacteria.
The lux R gene product of V. fischeri regulates the genes that actually produce the light in the marine bacterium. Ongoing studies using site-directed mutagenesis and polymerase chain reaction will further define each regulatory domain of the Lux R protein. Since then more than 60 gram negative bacteria have been identified as having similar regulatory mechanisms based on cell density. Folic acid is a vitamin essential for human growth and development. A dediciency of folic acid in a woman during pregnancy may result in neural tube defects of the fetus.