It looks like any other sea slug, aside from its bright green hue. But the Elysia chlorotica is far from ordinary: it is both a plant and an animal, according to biologists who have been studying the species for two decades. Not only does E. chlorotica turn sunlight into energy - something only plants can do - it also appears to have swiped this ability from the algae it consumes. Native to the salt marshes of New England and Canada, these sea slugs use contraband chlorophyll-producing genes and cell parts called chloroplasts from algae to carry out photosynthesis, says Sidney Pierce, a biologist at the University of South Florida in Tampa. That genetic material has since been passed down to the next generation, eliminating the need to consume algae for energy. However, the baby slugs can't carry out photosynthesis until they've stolen their own chloroplasts, which they aren't yet able to produce on their own, from their first and only meal of algae. "We collect them and we keep them in aquaria for months," Pierce told LiveScience. "As long as we shine a light on them for 12 hours a day, they can survive [without food]." Pierce and his colleagues used a radioactive tracer to ensure that the slugs are now producing the chlorophyll themselves and not gathering it from algal contamination in the aquaria. Crustacean biologist Gary Martin of Occidental College in Los Angeles sums it up in one word: “Bizarreâ€. “Steps in evolution can be more creative than I ever imagined,†said Martin Bizarre sea slug is half plant, half animal | MNN - Mother Nature Network Wow, thats crazy...
I remember reading about this a while back, definately very interesting...if thats not proof of evolution i dunno what is.
This is interesting. I didn't know of any "wild" non-GM animal/plant hybrids... I thought it was purely lab stuff, like that spider they genetically crossed with a fern plant.
Kinda lends credence to the theory that our cell's internal parts (like mitochondria) evolved from bacteria that were absorbed by early eukaryotes
This is insane. I bet that soon, they're going to start trying to splice that gene into another animal to create a half-algae/half-tarantula or something. Has anyone read the book "Oryx and Crake" by Margaret Atwood? The main character's best friend creates a new species of human that gains sustenance from plant material (among other traits taken from different, totally unrelated species). The new species ate only grasses and leaves from the environment, and were all vegetarians. This article reminded me of that.