A sea slug Elysia chlorotica acquires chloroplasts by consuming an algal food source, Vaucheria litorea . The ingested chloroplasts in sea slug’s digestive epithelium carry out active photosynthesis for months after ingestion. The algal nuclear genome encodes more than 90 % but not all of the proteins needed for chloroplast metabolism . It is supposed that the sea slug actively maintains ingested chloroplasts, supplying them with photosynthetic proteins encoded in the sea slug genome. Determine whether the sea slug has attain photosynthetic genes by horizontal gene transfer from its algal food source. Write down the steps required, and their plausibility, for heritable endosymbiosis to eventuate. Introduction: Elysia chlorotica is a small green slug, which shows kleptoplasty. Kleptoplasty is the phenomenon in which some slugs use chloroplast from the algae. Elysia chlorotica shows the symbiotic association with the chloroplasts of marine Vaucheria litorea.

Question

Want to see the full answer?

Answer 1

Question

Chapter 17, Problem 25P

Summary Introduction

To analyze:

A sea slug Elysia chlorotica acquires chloroplasts by consuming an algal food source, Vaucheria litorea. The ingested chloroplasts in sea slug’s digestive epithelium carry out active photosynthesis for months after ingestion. The algal nuclear genome encodes more than 90% but not all of the proteins needed for chloroplast metabolism. It is supposed that the sea slug actively maintains ingested chloroplasts, supplying them with photosynthetic proteins encoded in the sea slug genome.

Determine whether the sea slug has attain photosynthetic genes by horizontal gene transfer from its algal food source. Write down the steps required, and their plausibility, for heritable endosymbiosis to eventuate.

Introduction:

Elysia chlorotica is a small green slug, which shows kleptoplasty. Kleptoplasty is the phenomenon in which some slugs use chloroplast from the algae. Elysia chlorotica shows the symbiotic association with the chloroplasts of marine Vaucheria litorea.

Expert Solution & Answer

Want to see the full answer?

Check out a sample textbook solution

See solution

Students have asked these similar questions

You aim to test the hypothesis that the Tbx4 and Tbx5 genes inhibit each other's expression during limb development. With access to chicken embryos and viruses capable of overexpressing Tbx4 and Tbx5, describe an experiment to investigate whether these genes suppress each other's expression in the limb buds. What results would you expect if they do repress each other? What results would you expect if they do not repress each other?

You decide to delete Fgf4 and Fgf8 specifically in the limb bud. Explain why you would not knock out these genes in the entire embryo instead.

You implant an FGF10-coated bead into the anterior flank of a chicken embryo, directly below the level of the wing bud. What is the phenotype of the resulting ectopic limb? Briefly describe the expected expression domains of 1) Shh, 2) Tbx4, and 3) Tbx5 in the resulting ectopic limb bud.