Biology 1002B Lecture Notes - Autotroph, Vaucheria Litorea, Plastid
24 Aug 2013
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Document Summary
A species of sea slug known as elysia chlorotica is one of the few animals on earth that actively thrives almost exclusively through the process quite familiar to plants, photosynthesis. However, elysia chlorotica is not born with these capabilities. It must consume a species of alga in order to acquire the chloroplasts (or plastids) needed to engage in photosynthesis. Once it ensures a steady diet of algae, elysia chlorotica remarkably incorporates the received chloroplasts (undamaged by oral digestion) into its own somatic cells (specifically those lining the gut). Once the animal"s new plastids become fully functional, they act like solar panels to convert the energy from the sun into usable forms of energy through photosynthesis. A term used to refer to the obtaining of a plastid or chloroplast by an organism. Heterotrophy: - a classification for organisms that cannot fix carbon and therefore must obtain their energy from reduced organic forms of carbon (sugars, carbohydrates, proteins).
