Photosynthesis and the role of plastids (kleptoplastids) in Sacoglossa (Heterobranchia, Gastropoda): a short review

Authors

  • Heike Wägele Zoologisches Forschungsmuseum Alexander Koenig, Germany

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.35800/jasm.3.1.2015.12431

Keywords:

Mollusca, Heterobranchia, Sacoglossa, photosynthetic activity, kleptoplasty

Abstract

Title (Bahasa Indonesia): Fotosintesis dan peran plastida [kleptoplastids] pada Sacoglossa [Heterobranchia, Gastropoda]: tinjauan singkat.

 

In this manuscript I will give a short summary of our knowledge on photosyn-thesis in the enigmatic gastropod group Sacoglossa. Members of this group are able to sequester chloroplasts from their food algae (mainly Chlorophyta) and store them for weeks and months and it was assumed for a long time that they can use chloroplasts in a similar way as plants do. Only few sacoglossan species are able to perform photosynthesis for months, others are less effective or are not able at all. The processes involved are investigated now for a few years, but are still not clear. However we know now that many factors contribute to this enigmatic biological system. These include extrinsic (environment, origin and properties of the nutrition and the plastids) and intrinsic factors of slugs and algae (behaviour, physiological and anatomical properties). Plastids are not maintained by genes that might have originated by a horizontal gene transfer (HGT) from the algal genome into the slug genome, as was hypothesized for many years. We therefore have to focus our research now on other factors to understand what actually contributes to this unique metazoan phenomenon which is not yet understood. In this review, some of these new approaches are summarized.

 

Dalam tulisan ini saya akan memberikan ringkasan singkat tentang fotosintesis pada gastropoda kelompok misterius Sacoglossa. Organisme anggota dari kelompok ini mampu menyerap kloroplas dari alga makanan mereka (terutama Chlorophyta) dan menyimpannya selama berminggu-minggu, bahkan berbulan-bulan, sehingga telah diasumsikan bahwa mereka dapat menggunakan kloroplas dengan cara yang sama seperti tanaman. Hanya sedikit spesies sacoglossan dapat melakukan fotosintesis selama berbulan-bulan, yang lain kurang efektif atau tidak mampu sama sekali. Proses yang terlibat diselidiki sekarang selama beberapa tahun, namun masih belum jelas. Namun kita tahu sekarang bahwa banyak faktor yang berkontribusi terhadap sistem biologis misterius ini. Ini termasuk ekstrinsik (lingkungan, asal dan sifat gizi dan plastida) dan faktor intrinsik siput dan ganggang (perilaku, fisiologis dan sifat anatomis). Plastida tidak dikelola oleh gen yang mungkin berasal oleh transfer gen horizontal (HGT) dari genom alga ke dalam genom slug, seperti yang dihipotesiskan selama bertahun-tahun. Oleh karena itu kita harus fokus penelitian kami sekarang pada faktor-faktor lain untuk memahami apa yang sebenarnya memberikan kontribusi terhadap fenomena ini metazoan unik yang belum dipahami. Dalam ulasan ini, beberapa pendekatan baru dirangkum.

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2015-04-01

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