Photosynthesis at Sea Slug
Life there is everywhere from the deep sea to the mountains, as we all know; all living species are going to evolution, are changing and adapting to the environment, in such a way to continue life. The most precious thing which we have it here – life!
Talking about ways to adapt, the scientists have discovered recently that the green sea slug (founded on East Coast of North America) has something particular than other marine species. In fact it has similarities with plants more than animals, that’s because its body may photosynthesize, exactly as plats.
Its body is using the energy from light to transform carbon dioxide in sugars. Sidney Pierce from the University of South Florida told at CBC Radio’s Quirks & Quarks: “ If you shine light on these slugs, they fix carbon dioxide and make oxygen just like a plant”.
The slug may photosynthesize due of the algae which it has eaten; it incorporates the plants chlorophyll into its own cells, and maintains inside its body 9 -10 months or sometimes even more. Pierce said “It can complete its entire life cycle, including reproduction, just on photosynthesis.”
But, there is something even much more spectacular than photosynthesis at these slugs. They have been able also to ‘transfer’ the genes from the algae in their body and have integrated in their own gene structure, in order to be able to do the entire process of photosynthesis.
If we would be able to introduce this in gene therapy and genetic engineering, we could fix a lot of diseases. Unfortunately we didn’t find the way how to transfer genes from an organism to other. It seems that these slugs figured this out. That is why, this amazing discovered could help us a lot, in solving many of our healthy problems.
Read more on: http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2010/01/22/tech-biology-solar-sea-slug.html#ixzz0h7a4niA1
The picture is from: http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2010/01/22/tech-biology-solar-sea-slug.html#ixzz0h7a4niA1