Photosynthesizing Sea Slug & Scientific Breakthroughs

Photo credit: Marine Biological Laboratory Blog via Patrick Krug 

This vibrant green sea slug is more than just beautiful, it’s a scientific breakthrough.

This slug offers the first evidence of functional gene transfer between multicellular species.

This means that genes from the algae it eats have ended up in the slug’s chromosomes allowing the it to sustain itself through photosynthesis!

There is no way on earth that genes from an alga should work inside an animal cell. And yet here, they do. They allow the animal to rely on sunshine for its nutrition. So if something happens to their food source, they have a way of not starving to death until they find more algae to eat.” – Sidney K. Pierce, study co-author

There’s always a first for everything, right!

But the reason that this discovery is so important is because functional gene transfer is the goal of gene therapy research. Essentially, this research has the potential to correct genetically based diseased in humans.

Kudos to you little sea slug! For being not only beautiful, but for being the leader in gene transfer!

Read more on the story on the Marine Biological Laboratory Blog.