Taiwan researchers unlock DNA of luminescence in mushrooms 12/15/2020 07:51 PM To activate the text-to-speech service, please first agree to the privacy policy below. Jason Tsai, an associate research fellow at the Biodiversity Research Center under Academia Sinica. CNA photo Dec. 15, 2020 Taipei, Dec. 15 (CNA) Researchers at Academia Sinica, Taiwan's top academic research institution, have traced the evolution of mushrooms that glow under trees back to the Jurassic period about 160 million years ago and concluded their bioluminescence has been retained because it facilitates reproduction. Why mushrooms glow (display bioluminescence) has always been a curious question for evolutionary biologists, according to a statement released by the institution on Tuesday, making public the results of a research project aimed at detailing the evolution of luminescence in mushrooms.