what uses energy from the light to make food

Linda Crampton is a writer and sometime science teacher with an honors degree in biological science. She enjoys writing about science and nature.

The eastern emerald elysia is green because information technology contains functional chloroplasts.

Karen Due north. Pelletreau et al, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0 License

Animals That Use Light Energy

Most people consider plants to be simpler creatures than animals, only plants and other photosynthetic organisms take one big reward that animals lack. They have the wonderful ability to absorb lite and unproblematic nutrients and then make food inside their bodies. Researchers have discovered that some animals can also employ lite to make food in their bodies, though they require the help of a photosynthetic organism in gild to exercise this.

Plants apply organelles called chloroplasts to trap lite energy and produce food. The animals that perform photosynthesis either comprise captured chloroplasts or living algae containing the organelles. At least one animate being species has incorporated algal genes into its DNA as well as algal chloroplasts into its cells. The chloroplasts comport out photosynthesis within the animal, producing a carbohydrate and oxygen. The creature uses some of the carbohydrate for food.

Scientists have discovered that one insect can use sunlight, though it doesn't employ it to produce food. Instead, its exoskeleton uses the light energy to produce electric energy in a solar cell.

Solar-Powered Sea Slugs: Elysia chlorotica

The Eastern Emerald Elysia

Despite their relatively advanced anatomy and physiology, beast bodies can't utilise the sun's free energy directly (except in reactions such as the product of vitamin D in man skin) and can't produce nutrient internally. Their cells have no chloroplasts, so they are dependent on plants or other photosynthetic organisms for their survival, either directly or indirectly. The beautiful eastern emerald elysia (Elysia chlorotica) is one beast that has establish an interesting solution to this problem.

The eastern emerald elysia is a type of sea slug. Information technology's found along the due east coast of the Us and Canada in shallow water. The slug is about an inch long and is greenish in colour. Its body is ofttimes decorated with small white spots.

Elysia chlorotica has wide, wing-like structures called parapodia that extend from the sides of its body equally it floats. The parapodia undulate and incorporate vein-like structures, making the slug expect similar a foliage that has fallen into the water. This advent may help to camouflage the animal. The parapodia are folded over the torso when the animal is itch over a solid surface.

These photos show a magnified view of the eastern emerald elysia. The arrow is pointing to one of the chloroplast-filled branches of the digestive tract in the parapodia.

Karen Due north. Pelletreau et al, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY four.0 License

Algae Living in the Eastern Emerald Elysia

The eastern emerald elysia feeds on a filamentous green alga called Vaucheria litoria that lives in the intertidal zone. When it takes a filament into its mouth, the slug pierces it with its radula (a ring covered with tiny chitinous teeth) and sucks the contents out. Due to a procedure that is not completely understood, the chloroplasts in the filament are not digested and are retained. The process of acquiring chloroplasts from the alga is known equally kleptoplasty.

The chloroplasts collect in the branches of the slug's digestive tract, where they absorb sunlight and comport out photosynthesis. The branches of the digestive tract extend throughout the fauna'south body, including the parapodia. The slug'due south expanded "wings" provide a greater surface area for the chloroplasts to absorb calorie-free.

Young slugs that haven't collected chloroplasts are dark-brown in colour and have cherry-red spots. The chloroplasts build upwardly as the animal feeds. Eventually they become so numerous that the slug no longer needs to eat. The chloroplasts make glucose, which the slug'due south trunk absorbs. Researchers have discovered that the slugs tin can survive as long equally nine months without eating.

Roll to Continue

Read More than From Owlcation

Gene Transfer for Photosynthesis

The chloroplasts in a jail cell contain DNA, which in plow contains genes. Scientists have discovered that a chloroplast doesn't contain all of the genes needed to direct the process of photosynthesis. The other genes for photosynthesis are present in the Deoxyribonucleic acid located in the nucleus of the cell. Researchers have establish that at least one of the required algal genes is as well nowadays in the Deoxyribonucleic acid of the eastern emerald elysia'southward cells. At some point in fourth dimension, the algal factor became incorporated into the slug's Deoxyribonucleic acid.

The fact that the chloroplast—which is non an animal organelle—can survive and part in an animal's torso is amazing. Even more amazing is the fact that the ocean slug's genome (genetic material) is made of both its ain DNA and algal DNA. The situation is an example of horizontal factor transfer, or the transfer of genes between unrelated organisms. Vertical factor transfer is the transfer of genes from a parent to its offspring.

A drove of mint-sauce worms inside a shell on a embankment

Fauceir1, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 License

The Mint-Sauce Worm

A greenish worm (Symsagittifera roscoffensis) can be constitute on certain beaches on the Atlantic coast of Europe. The animal is only a few millimetres long and is frequently known equally the mint-sauce worm. Its colour comes from the photosynthetic algae living in its tissues. The developed worms rely entirely on substances made by photosynthesis for their nutrition. They are found in shallow h2o, where their algae can absorb sunlight.

The worms collect to form a circular group when their population is sufficiently dumbo. Furthermore, the circle rotates—virtually always in a clockwise direction. At lower densities the worms move in a linear mat, as shown in the video beneath. Researchers are very interested in the reasons why the worms move as a group and in the factors that control this motility. The tiny organism may take some big secrets to reveal.

Mint-Sauce Worms Moving Over a Beach

Oriental Hornet Facts

The oriental hornet, or Vespa orientalis, is a scarlet-brown insect with yellow markings. The insect has two wide, yellow stripes next to each other near the finish of its abdomen. The hornet besides has a narrow yellow stripe nigh the start of its abdomen and a xanthous patch on its face.

Oriental hornets are found in southern Europe, western asia, northeast Africa, and Madagascar. They take as well been introduced to part of Due south America.

The hornets live in colonies and commonly build their nest underground. The nests are occasionally constructed to a higher place ground in a sheltered area, however. Similar bees, the hornet colony consists of one queen and many workers, which are all females. The queen is the just hornet in the colony that reproduces. The workers take care of the nest and colony. The male hornets, or drones, die after fertilizing the queens.

The hard outer covering of an insect is called an exoskeleton or cuticle. Scientists have discovered that the exoskeleton of the oriental hornet produces electricity from sunlight and acts as a solar cell.

Oriental hornet workers fanning their wings to keep their nest cool on a hot day

Gideon Pisanty, via Wikimedia Eatables, CC By 3.0 License

Oriental Hornet Exoskeleton and Electricity

By examining the hornet's exoskeleton under very high magnification and investigating its composition and properties, scientists accept discovered the following facts.

• The brown areas of the exoskeleton contain grooves that split incoming sunlight into diverging beams.
• The yellow areas are covered past oval protrusions which each accept a tiny depression that resembles a pinhole.
• The grooves and holes are thought to reduce the amount of sunlight that bounces off the exoskeleton.
• Lab results have shown that the surface of the hornet absorbs most of the calorie-free that strikes information technology.
• The yellow areas contain a pigment called xanthopterin, which can plough light energy into electrical energy.
• Scientists think that the brown areas pass light to the yellow areas, which and so produce electricity.
• In the lab, shining low-cal on the oriental hornet's exoskeleton generates a small-scale voltage, showing that it can act as a solar jail cell.

The Scene Inside an Oriental Hornet Nest

Why May the Hornet Demand Electric Energy?

Information technology's non yet known why the oriental hornet needs electrical free energy, although researchers have made some suggestions. The electricity might give the insect's muscles extra free energy or it might increase the action of certain enzymes.

Unlike many insects, the oriental hornet is nearly active in the middle of the day and early afternoon when the sunlight is most intense. Its exoskeleton is thought to provide a boost in energy as sunlight is captivated and converted into electric energy.

The embryos of the spotted salamander comprise chloroplasts inside symbiotic algae.

Tom Tyning, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain image

Spotted Salamander Facts

The spotted salamander (Ambystoma maculatum) lives in the eastern U.s. and Canada, where it'southward a widespread amphibian. The adults are blackness, dark chocolate-brown, or dark greyness in color and take yellowish spots. Researchers take discovered that the embryos of the spotted salamander contain chloroplasts. The discovery is exciting because the salamander is the only vertebrate known to incorporate chloroplasts into its body.

Spotted salamanders live in deciduous forests. They are rarely seen considering they spend most of their fourth dimension under logs or rocks or in burrows. They sally at nighttime to feed under the cover of darkness. The salamanders are carnivores and eat invertebrates such as insects, worms, and slugs.

Spotted salamanders also emerge from their hiding place in club to mate. The female person generally finds a vernal (temporary) pool in which to lay her eggs. The advantage of a pool of water compared to many ponds is that the pool doesn't contain fish that would eat the eggs.

Adult Spotted Salamanders

How Exercise the Embryos Obtain Chloroplasts?

Once the salamander's eggs are laid in a puddle, a single-celled green alga called Oophila amblystomatis enters them within a few hours. The human relationship between the developing embryo and the alga is mutually beneficial. The alga uses the wastes made by the embryos and the embryos utilize oxygen produced by the alga during photosynthesis. Researchers have found that in eggs with algae, embryos abound faster and have a better survival rate.

It used to be thought that the algae entered the salamander eggs but not the embryos inside the eggs. Now scientists know that some of the algae do enter the embryo's body, and some even enter the embryo'south cells. The algae survive and keep to photosynthesize, producing food for the embryo every bit well as oxygen. Embryos without the algae can survive, but they abound more slowly and their survival rate is lower.

Salamander Eggs and Embryos

Photosynthesis in Animals

At present that one vertebrate has been found to carry out photosynthesis, scientists are on the lookout for more. They feel that it'due south more probable in vertebrates that reproduce by releasing eggs into water, where the eggs tin exist penetrated by algae. The young of mammals and birds are well protected and aren't likely to absorb algae.

The idea that animals can use solar free energy vía isolated chloroplasts or algae or entirely on their own is a fascinating ane. It will be interesting to see if more animals with these abilities are discovered.

References

• Ocean slug takes genes from algae from the Phys.org news service
• Social sunbathing in the mint-sauce worm from the Academy of Bristol in the UK
• Oriental hornets powered past solar free energy from the BBC (British Dissemination Corporation)
• Algae inside the cells of salamander embryos from the Phys.org news service

Questions & Answers

Question: We apply plant material like alfalfa (lucerne) to make pellets for brute feeds. Is it at all possible to "industry" pellets from sunlight with artificial photosynthesis and thus bypass the plants' processes?

Respond: At the moment, this isn't possible. Researchers are exploring artificial photosynthesis, even so, so it may 1 24-hour interval be viable. During natural photosynthesis, plants convert the free energy of sunlight into chemic energy, which is so stored in the molecules of carbohydrates. At the moment, the focus of the artificial photosynthesis research seems to be the creation of a dissimilar type of energy from sunlight instead of the chemic free energy stored in molecules. New goals for the research may be established in the hereafter, though.

© 2013 Linda Crampton

Linda Crampton (author) from British Columbia, Canada on February 02, 2016:

Thank you for the informative annotate, Taranwanderer.

Linda Crampton (author) from British Columbia, Canada on March 03, 2015:

Hi, Jamie. Humans and animals depend on the dominicus for energy because although they don't use it directly they need it for their source of nutrient. For example, humans feed on plants that accept produced nutrient within their bodies using the sun's free energy. Nosotros too eat animals that have fed on the plants, or even on animals that have fed on other animals that have eaten plants. The plants are at the bottom of the food chain. Without a light source, the plants wouldn't be able to carry out photosynthesis and brand nutrient. The death of the plants would then atomic number 82 to the death of animals that feed on them.

Jamie on March 03, 2015:

My question actually is...humans and animals exercise non have chloroplasts in their cells and cannot photosynthesize. ..why are they notwithstanding dependent on the sun for free energy? If anyone can reply this. I would appreciate information technology.

Linda Crampton (writer) from British Columbia, Canada on Feb 02, 2013:

Thank you lot, shiningirisheyes. Information technology volition be interesting to see what the future holds! We may detect more photosynthetic animals and make discoveries that help humans.

Shining Irish Optics from Upstate, New York on February 02, 2013:

The scientific studies existence reached on a regular footing open upward doors to an entire new realm of possibilities. Excellent research article.

Linda Crampton (author) from British Columbia, Canada on January 29, 2013:

Hi, drbj. They certainly are astonishing animals! Thank you very much for the visit and the comment.

drbj and sherry from s Florida on January 29, 2013:

These three may be among the weirdest animals on the planet, Alicia. Thanks for bringing them to my attention is such a fascinating manner. I may have to interview i or all of them cheers to your introduction. They will join my hubs with other weird animals like the dung protrude, proboscis monkey, axolotl, anglerfish, platypus, etc., etc.

This hub is astonishing. Trust me.

Linda Crampton (author) from British Columbia, Canada on January 28, 2013:

Cheers very much for the kind annotate and the vote, Dianna!

Dianna Mendez on January 28, 2013:

I dont' know how you lot do it, just you continue to astonish me with these fascinating posts. The green insects look pretty. Thanks for the education. Voted mode upwards!

Linda Crampton (writer) from British Columbia, Canada on January 28, 2013:

Thank you for the visit, jainismus.

Mahaveer Sanglikar from Pune, India on Jan 28, 2013:

Interesting information, I did not know about this.

Linda Crampton (author) from British Columbia, Canada on January 27, 2013:

Give thanks yous very much, girishpuri. I appreciate your visit and comment!

Girish puri from NCR , INDIA on January 27, 2013:

That is very useful and amazing information, animals employ such an advanced technology, wonderful and an add-on to my noesis, thanks Alicia.

Linda Crampton (author) from British Columbia, Canada on January 27, 2013:

Hi, Tranquilheart. Yes, nosotros do have and then much more to larn about animals! Their features are so interesting. Thank you for the visit and the annotate.

Tranquilheart from Canada on January 27, 2013:

We accept much more than to learn about animals of all types. Makes us realize that humans aren't superior, only unlike. Thanks & continue sharing.

Linda Crampton (author) from British Columbia, Canada on January 27, 2013:

It is a fascinating idea that an animal can bear out photosynthesis or that its body tin can act as a solar cell! Thank you for the visit and the comment, Deb.

Deb Hirt from Stillwater, OK on January 27, 2013:

This is amazing data. I had no clue that these animals were so advanced, which if you finish and think about it, they actually are. I saw a spotted salamander once when I was a kid. Beautiful little matter!

Linda Crampton (author) from British Columbia, Canada on January 26, 2013:

Thanks for the comment, Martie. I appreciate information technology!

Martie Coetser from South Africa on January 26, 2013:

Extremely interesting information about animals using solar energy. I larn and then much from you, Alicia! Thank you :)

Linda Crampton (author) from British Columbia, Canada on January 25, 2013:

Thank you lot very much, Rochelle! I capeesh your visit and comment. Yes, understanding photosynthesis and electricity production in animals could take important consequences in the future. It will be interesting to meet what develops.

Rochelle Frank from California Gold Country on Jan 25, 2013:

Fascinating stuff! When scientists really sympathise all of this, I would suppose it could have major benefits for food and energy production.

Thank you for giving u.s.a. a possible glimpse of the future. Good, content rich hub.

hicksdely1979.blogspot.com

Source: https://owlcation.com/stem/Animals-That-Use-Solar-Energy-and-the-Power-of-the-Sun