First animal that uses photosynthesis to feed itself
First animal that uses photosynthesis to feed itself
This small marine gastropod mollusk species, found on the northern Atlantic coasts, is called chlorotic Elysia and is capable of digesting an algae called Vaucheria litorea without causing any damage to the most important structures of the photosynthetic apparatus, the chloroplasts.
What it does is digest the rest of the organs of the cells of the algae, in an amazing selective process, in addition it is able to integrate these chloroplasts into its cells as "solar panels" that provide it with long-term energy, allowing the animal survive, between six and eight months without feeding on anything but sunlight.
The study describes the mechanisms that it uses as this animal keeps the stolen chloroplasts and their assimilation, thus demonstrating that this process is effectively carried out and how it does so, this could help in the development of artificial photosynthesis.
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