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DeathMonkey [soylentnews.org] writes:

The Times Gazette [thetimesgazette.com] is reporting on a sea slug that is able to perform photosynthesis to supply itself with food from sunlight.

According to Pierce and his team of researchers, “Here, we have used fluorescent in situ hybridization to localize an algal nuclear gene, prk, found in both larval and adult slug DNA by PCR and in adult RNA by transcriptome sequencing and RT-PCR. The prk probe hybridized with a metaphase chromosome in slug larvae, confirming gene transfer between alga and slug.”

The emerald sea slug exploits a process known as kleptoplasty – whereby it steals chloroplasts from V. litorea and then embeds these into its own digestive system to enable it manufacture its own food like plants do.

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Original Submission