Kleptoplasty and a Solar-Powered Animal

 A solar-powered animal?  There are species of sea slugs that consume algae, then integrate the chloroplasts into their own digestive cells.  There they function to fix carbon and essentially power the organism.  This phenomenon is known as kelptoplasty- stealing the autotrophic capacities of one organism for the slug’s benefit. This week’s podcast is a conversation with Dr. Sonia Cruz, a Principal Researcher at the University of Averio. Her work seeks to unravel many of the intriguing questions about this unusual relationship between photosynthesis and animals.

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The Talking Biotech podcast is distinct from Dr. Kevin Folta's teaching and research roles at the University of Florida. The views expressed on the show are those of Dr. Folta and his guests, and do not reflect the opinions of the university or Colabra.