A Photosynthetic Animal: A Sacoglossan Sea Slug that Steals Chloroplasts

Abstract

Sacoglossan sea slugs are able to steal chloroplasts from their algal prey and acquire photosynthetic capacity (termed kleptoplasty). These stolen plastids provide sea slugs with a long-term supply of organic carbon and energy. This augmented nutrient supply brings many benefits in terms of survival, body planning, reproductive traits, and body regeneration. However, the mechanisms of maintenance of chloroplasts and photosynthesis in sea slugs are poorly understood. Here, we introduce this mysterious phenomenon, including recent research findings, and consider its feasibility for synthetic biology, e.g., construction of artificial photosynthetic animal cells.

Natural and Artificial Photosymbiosis in Vertebrates

“…Further investigation is needed to ascertain the feasibility of vertebrate-algal symbiosis, and address vertebrate host limitations in natural photosymbiosis. Because the photosymbiosis phenomenon is analogous to the first stage of transformation from animal cells to plant cells, understanding it may provide clues as to how chloroplasts have formed, and the origin of kleptoplasty (Aoki andMatsunaga 2021, Maeda et al 2021).…”