Surprising Sea Slug Is Half-plant, Half-animal

Surprising Sea Slug Is Half-plant, Half-animal

www.livescience.com

A green sea slug appears to be part animal, part plant. It's the first critter discovered to produce the plant pigment chlorophyll.

The sneaky slugs seem to have stolen the genes that enable this skill from algae that they've eaten. With their contraband genes, the slugs can carry out photosynthesis — the process plants use to convert sunlight into energy.

"They can make their energy-containing molecules without having to eat anything," said Sidney Pierce, a biologist at the University o

(visit the link for the full news article)

I've been debating with myself wether to post this here in BAN or ST or FE. But I find myself here as this:

This is the first time that multicellar animals have been able to produce chlorophyll,"

I find that fascinating!

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/e09f99659dac.jpg[/atsimg]

The sea slugs live in salt marshes in New England and Canada. In addition to burglarizing the genes needed to make the green pigment chlorophyll, the slugs also steal tiny cell parts called chloroplasts, which they use to conduct photosynthesis. The chloroplasts use the chlorophyl to convert sunlight into energy, just as plants do, eliminating the need to eat food to gain energy.

It's almost as it was genetically engineered by a super-scientist.

CHECK THIS:

"We collect them and we keep them in aquaria for months," Pierce said. "As long as we shine a light on them for 12 hours a day, they can survive [without food]."

I do apologize but imagine owning this as a pet
I am sorry to say this but it's my curious mind wanting to study it more than play with it like a pet.

www.livescience.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

Not sure how much mOar Alternative it gets than that.

A species that has evolved to the point where mere sunlight can sustain its being.

Hmmm ... they don't happen to come in, say, the 4 ft range ... with big eyes and whatnot. Do they?


Interesting find.

That is too cool. Makes you wonder what else is out there. Kinda makes them the ultimate "green" species.

reply to post by ModernAcademia


Very nice find

reply to post by 12m8keall2c


Okay. So they're not self-sustainable UNLESS the offspring remain in an algae-rich environment.

The researchers used a radioactive tracer to be sure that the slugs are actually producing the chlorophyll themselves, as opposed to just stealing the ready-made pigment from algae. In fact, the slugs incorporate the genetic material so well, they pass it on to further generations of slugs.

The babies of thieving slugs retain the ability to produce their own chlorophyll, though they can't carry out photosynthesis until they've eaten enough algae to steal the necessary chloroplasts, which they can't yet produce on their own.

Still. Amazing.

reply to post by 12m8keall2c


Makes you wonder though doesn't it?
Makes you wonder about evolution and adaptation.

Okay so this is just me thinking out loud, so don't put to much into it but as we all know there are worries about an oncoming global food crisis.

If this affected enough people on the planet could humans adapt to this and somehow evolve into, not this, but something like this?

I know it's really out there, but hey a few hours ago I never though a sea slug could do this so who knows

We learned alot about construction and insulation from african ants, flying from birds, swimming from fish... and so on and so forth. Sure that's learning from them and mimicking but as an ofshoot of my "thinking out loud" maybe a product could be made for this too.

Just thinking out loud!

reply to post by ModernAcademia


Awesome idea, but I'd miss cajun cooking and pizza. I love seafood, but, not algae. :-) Your thoughts are neat though.

Future of carbon based life right thuuuur!

Oh my God!
That is AMAZING!



Life and evolution never fails to throw surprises at us, does it?

I love it!

Great find.

I'm sure that in the future we will discover more animals/cryptids with strange and unusual properties,how awe-inspiring is that?

What a cool planet we live on. if only we could only get cars to run on chlorophyll !

s+f

Originally posted by 12m8keall2c
Okay. So they're not self-sustainable UNLESS the offspring remain in an algae-rich environment.

The researchers used a radioactive tracer to be sure that the slugs are actually producing the chlorophyll themselves, as opposed to just stealing the ready-made pigment from algae. In fact, the slugs incorporate the genetic material so well, they pass it on to further generations of slugs.

The babies of thieving slugs retain the ability to produce their own chlorophyll, though they can't carry out photosynthesis until they've eaten enough algae to steal the necessary chloroplasts, which they can't yet produce on their own.

So they've fully integrated one plant gene into their DNA, but not the other.

Obviously this destroys the idea that genetic mutation is random. This idea was already debunked imo, but this is just an extremely clear example of why. Organisms can share genes and DNA, and we can even consciously change our own genetics and DNA as far as we can control the environment signals which are the true cause of activation and de-activation of genes, including self-modifier genes.

Originally posted by lucien999
Future of carbon based life right thuuuur!

Lol Nasa has always claimed something obvious to be an anomaly. Great examples are given in Richard C Hogland's book Dark Mission. Know this that TPTB will always try to hide the truth in plain sight.

There was already a thread created for this topic yesterday.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

He even looks like a leaf!

Not sure if we should keep eating cattle, pigs and chicken. Or a cowpigchickenman will become. Then again, if we just eat just plants then we'll start growing leaves.

Please correct me if I am wrong but isn't that what most women usually say after a night at the club at the end of the night???

Just sayin...........

Just kidding........

Yes, very nice pet/ plant, I have always wanted to have a nice pet/ plant for my aquarium. Whether it is a plant, fish or both, it is nice to include natural growng life forms in aur homes.

Could you imagine a snake/ eel hybrid, now that would be freaky.

:-\

brings a whole new meaning to "you are what you eat", lol.
good find!

Well Monsanto has produced a tomato that's got insect DNA.

Half plant - half insect. Now that's science for you. Personally I'll stick with natures version of half and half.

So, if I read the entire article correctly, they were able to by experiment determine that these slugs, once they've "borrowed" enough genetic material from the algae, are capable of synthesizing chlorophyll through photosynthesis even if they never consume the algae again? (They said that they waited until all remnants of consumed algae were excreted, then used a radioactive compound to detect whether chlorophyll was being produced when in sunlight, and it was, but not when the slugs were kept in darkness.)

That's incredible! Is it possible that we could breed these creatures to absorb carbon dioxide in, or to help re-oxygenate, the oceans?