Solar-powered sea slugs
AUG 22, 2012
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.026277
BBC : Certain species of sea slugs can perform photosynthesis by acquiring chloroplasts from algae. Bruno Jesus of the Oceanography Centre at the University of Lisbon, Portugal, and colleagues found that when the slugs ate green algae, they were able to incorporate the algae’s chloroplasts into their own tissues. The slugs make the most of the photosynthetic process in two ways: They use green pigment to transfer electrons, and they flatten their bodies to maximize exposure to the Sun’s rays. By using both animal and plant abilities, “solar powered sea slugs take a little bit of the best of both worlds,” said Jesus.
© 2012. American Institute of Physics