Just in Tim for Christmas

[Studlover (imported)]

A very important paper published in Nature today: Kemp, Nasal

bioluminescence in reindeer, Rangifer tarandus rubens, Nature 426,

768 (2003). We have to go to the primary literature!

Nasal bioluminescence in reindeer, Rangifer tarandus rubens

The discovery in 1939 of a reindeer mutant characterized by a

luminescent snout (and popularly known as 'red-nosed') is a neglected

chapter in the history of selective breeding. The mutation initially

resulted in the young fawn (nicknamed Rudolph) being ostracized, in

much the same manner as documented by H. Christian Andersen in his

classic account of the so-called 'ugly duckling'1. However, the

timely intervention of S. Claus, who breeds reindeer in Russia's

Chukotka peninsula, ensured the persistence of the new trait, which

has proved navigationally beneficial on a world-wide basis2. Here I

show that the precise mechanism for the luminescence in the reindeer

Rangifer tarandus rubens is identical to that which causes the glow

in railroad worms.

There has been unwarranted confusion about the first record of the

red-nosed reindeer. Priority belongs to R. L. May of the Montgomery

Ward department store in Chicago, who made the first independent

sighting, accompanied by draftsman D. Gillen, who clearly recorded

its shining nose in his sketch and printed illustration3 (Fig. 1).

The resulting publication was given the widest possible distribution,

to such effect that six million copies had been sold by 1946. The

fame of the mutant was ensured by the popular, if inaccurate, musical

rendition of its discovery by G. Autrey in 1949.

It is now known that selection for the Rudolph mutant by the

notoriously secretive Chukotkan herder, S. Claus, actually about came

by chance, during a journey across the habitat occupied by the young

reindeer4. Claus recognized that nasal bioluminescence presented a

significant adaptive advantage in the prevailing meteorological

conditions. The records for 25 December 1949 indicate a worldwide fog

of unprecedented extent5. Claus' adoption of Rudolph and cultivation

of a pure-breeding strain facilitated his navigational tasks during

the smogs that beset developed countries in the 1950s and 1960s.

The famous red glow arises from a chemiluminescent reaction involving

a direct conversion of chemical energy into light. It involves the

substrate d-luciferin combining with ATP and oxygen, in a reaction

catalysed by the enzyme luciferase, with light being given off along

with the product oxyluciferin. The forms of luciferin and luciferase

differ chemically in different organisms6, with the colour of light

given off varying according to the substrate, ranging from blue in

marine organisms to yellow in fireflies. The mechanism in R. t.

rubens is identical to that seen in larva of the beetle Phrixothrix

hiatus, known as the railroad worm, which produces red light from its

head and green light from its body7.

The size of the current population of Rudolphs is impossible to

estimate with any accuracy, but it must run into many millions. There

have been proposals to classify the twentieth-century 'red-nosed'

subspecies as a pest8. However, a proper understanding of its natural

history will almost certainly reveal that natural controls are

already beginning to operate effectively.

Competing interests statement The author denies that he has any

intention to obtain any financial interest in Rudolph.

Received 27 November 2003;accepted 6 December 2003

References 1. Anderson, H. C. The "Ugly Duckling" Phenomenon in Duck

and Swan Populations. Danish Biol. Rep. Int. Ser. 944, 199b?"205

(1953).

2. Christmas, Fr Memoirs of S. Claus, Reindeer Herder 169 and 222b?"256

(Almquist & Larsen, Stockholm, 1950).

3. May, R. L. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (Maxton, New York,

1939). Also letter of 24 December 1939 from Denver Gillen to Daisy

Gillen, in Gillen Papers 639/24, University of Lucre, Texas.

4. Claus, S. Memoirs 224b?"227 (1944).

5. Am. Meteorol. Surv. 91, 561 (1950).

6. Luce, M. & Seurat, P. in Bioluminescence in Marine and Terrestrial

Organisms. A Comparative Study (transl. Signac, P.; Flammarion, Paris

and New York, 2000).

7. Treno, F. S. Rosy luminescence in the heads of railroad worms. J.

Brazil. Biol. 69, 189b?"194 (2001).

8. Scrooge, E. A population out of control. Int. J. Hunting 590, 15b?"

440 (2002).