Sea slug surprise: It’s half-plant, half-animal

bang guy

Moderator
I wish the article were better written. I can't tell what is different between this slug and the way Lettuce Slugs photosynthesize.
 

pezenfuego

Active Member
I agree that it should be better written. I assure you that this slug is 100% animal. The fact that it can use chloroplasts doesn't change its kingdom. It made for an interesting title, but it also made for a false title. It's like when people call macroalgae a plant. It annoys me. I assure you macroalgae is from the kingdom Protista and if you disagree, well then you're wrong.
"This is the first time that multicellar animals
have been able to produce chlorophyll," Pierce told LiveScience.
 

9supratt4

Active Member
Originally Posted by Bang Guy
http:///forum/post/3207961
I wish the article were better written. I can't tell what is different between this slug and the way Lettuce Slugs photosynthesize.
Is it possible that the lettuce slugs don't phtosynthesize and produce chlorophyll as these do? Maybe the lettuce slug produces something else?
 

9supratt4

Active Member
I just re-read the article....it says that this slug can produce theor own energy molecules without eating them, where the lettuce slug takes the chloropplasts from the algea it eats and stores it.
"They can make their energy-containing molecules without having to eat anything," said Sidney Pierce, a biologist at the University of South Florida in Tampa.
 

bang guy

Moderator
Further down:
though they can't carry out photosynthesis until they've eaten enough algae to steal the necessary chloroplasts
This leads me to believe that the "energy-containing molecules" mentioned earlier is sugar.
 

bang guy

Moderator
Well, someone on another site pointed out the difference. Lettuce Slugs steal Chloroplasts and Chlorophyll from the algae they eat. These new slugs steal the Chloroplasts but they can manufacture their own Chlorophyll. That's the new part, an animal manufacturing Chlorophyll.
 
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