ArticlePhotosynthesis research2022
Ultraviolet screening by slug tissue and tight packing of plastids protect photosynthetic sea slugs from photoinhibition.
Article in Photosynthesis research, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
What it found
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 11 citations in OpenAlex.
- Red light promotes sea slug growth while blue light increases longevity of stolen chloroplasts.Biology open · 2026Article
- Loss of state transitions in Bryopsidales macroalgae and kleptoplastic sea slugs (Gastropoda, Sacoglossa).Communications biology · 2025Article
- Optical Properties of Body Mucus Secreted from Coral Reef Sea Slugs: Measurement of Refractive Indices and Relative Absorption Spectra.Zoological studies · 2024Article
- Prey species and abundance affect growth and photosynthetic performance of the polyphagous sea slugRoyal Society open science · 2023Article
- Red pigments in autumn leaves of Norway maple do not offer significant photoprotection but coincide with stress symptoms.Tree physiology · 2023Article
- Food shaped photosynthesis: Photophysiology of the sea slugOpen research Europe · 2023Article
- Singlet oxygen production by photosystem II is caused by misses of the oxygen evolving complex.The New phytologist · 2023Article
- Kleptoplasty: Getting away with stolen chloroplasts.PLoS biology · 2022Article
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
One of the main mysteries regarding photosynthetic sea slugs is how the slug plastids handle photoinhibition, the constant light-induced damage to Photosystem II of photosynthesis. Recovery from photoinhibition involves proteins encoded by both the nuclear and plastid genomes, and slugs with plastids isolated from the algal nucleus are therefore expected to be incapable of constantly repairing the damage as the plastids inside the slugs grow old. We studied photoinhibition-related properties of the sea slug Elysia timida that ingests its plastids from the green alga Acetabularia acetabulum. Spectral analysis of both the slugs and the algae revealed that there are two ways the slugs use to avoid major photoinhibition of their plastids. Firstly, highly photoinhibitory UV radiation is screened by the slug tissue or mucus before it reaches the plastids. Secondly, the slugs pack the plastids tightly in their thick bodies, and therefore plastids in the outer layers protect the inner ones from photoinhibition. Both properties are expected to greatly improve the longevity of the plastids inside the slugs, as the plastids do not need to repair excessive amounts of damage.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.