A sea slug named called Elysia chlorotica has the uncanny ability to photosynthesize after feeding from algae.

Researchers have found out how this creature is able to undergo photosynthesis. It turns out the sea slug apparently steals the genes from the algae it eats.

This unique ability allows the sea slug to live like a plant for a longer period of time since it also gets nourishment from sunlight. This creature is the first known example of horizontal gene transfer occurring in multicellular organisms.

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Lead researcher Sidney Pierce of the Department of Integrative Biology from the University of South Florida along with colleagues used advanced imaging technology to determine the gene found in the chromosome of the emerald sea slug also called Elysia chlorotica, which originates from the algae called Vaucheria litorea.

This gene is responsible for the slug's ability to sustain a photosynthetic process to get nourishment. This process then produces an enzyme that plays a pivotal role in chloroplast function in plants and algae.

When the chloroplasts are digested by the sea slug, they are retained in the slug's cells and enable the photosynthetic process for as long as nine months, which is far longer compared to the algae. This photosynthesis produces the lipids and carbohydrates the slugs need for their nutrition.

This phenomenon in which the slug steals chloroplasts from V. litorea algae and embeds them into its own digestive system is called kleptoplasty. Scientists have been studying this process to understand how the slug keeps these organelles in its system for a long period of time.

Pierce adds this gene is incorporated into the chromosome of the slug and is transferred to the next generation. This generation will ingest more chloroplasts from the algae to replenish the genes of the chloroplasts that are already present in the creature's genome of.

This study was published in The Biological Bulletin.

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