Firefly Genes Help in Cancer Drug Tests

U.S. researchers have found a way to use a firefly gene to test the effectiveness of a new drug therapy against lymphoma.

The new study, published online in the journal Cancer Research, looked at adult T-cell lymphoma and leukemia, a form of cancer where it is particularly hard to gauge the disease’s progress, the university said Thursday in a release.

The research team, which was using mice to test a combination of PS-341 and zoledronic acid, found that a gene responsible for a firefly’s glow could give researchers a clear picture of the extent of the disease inside the animal.

The gene produces the enzyme luciferase. Luciferase, combined with luciferin causes the firefly’s distinctive glow.

The mice received the genetically modified tumor cells and the researchers injected luciferin into the animals. Cancer cells containing the luciferase combine with the luciferin and glow in the dark, the report said.