Bioluminescence is catalyzed by luciferase, which creates light by

A) shunting electrons from FMNH₂ to O₂, which releases energy in the form of light.
B) reversing photosynthesis, which produces a surplus of ATP.
C) hydrolyzing ATP to release the excess energy as light.
D) reducing LuxR, the regulatory protein that controls the lux operon.