What role does a long-chain aldehyde play in bacterial bioluminescence?

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time-lapse photo of fireflies — Bioluminescence Time-lapse image of fireflies in the Catskill Mountains, New York. Firefly light is a cold light, with approximately 100 percent of the energy given off as light and only a minute amount as heat. Only light in the visible spectrum is emitted.

In bacterial bioluminescence, the process relies on the enzymatic oxidation of reduced flavin mononucleotide (FMNH $_{2}$ ).

The role of the long-chain aliphatic aldehyde molecule (such as decanal) is to react with a long-lived intermediate complex formed by the interaction of bacterial luciferase, FMNH $_{2}$ , and oxygen. This final reaction step is what triggers the emission of light.12