By Fiona Hodge

At the cutting edge of clean energy generation is a spineless sea slug. This tiny sea slug does not dam rivers or build wind turbines. Instead it takes advantage of existing technology found in plants. Trees, herbs, ferns, mosses and seaweeds all contain chloroplasts: the more efficient version of a solar panel.

Our opaque sea slug hero dines on algae, but retains their chloroplasts (watch this). These chloroplasts continue to produce energy via photosynthesis, puzzling top scientists. Just like a solar panel these chloroplasts need new parts every now and then. How could the sea slug produce the replacement parts or proteins required? The genes or recipes for these proteins were kept in the algae’s DNA, or recipe book so to speak, which was digested by the hungry sea slug… Scientists were amazed to find exact copies of the required algal genes in the sea slug’s DNA! This species of sea slug had taken the recipes it needed to keep the chloroplasts in working order.

How did the algal genes get into the sea slug? Normally genes are passed down from one generation to another. However, genes can also move independently of reproduction. This is known as horizontal gene transfer and is basically natural genetic modification. Genes can move between species via bacteria, viruses or as a result of very close contact. These algal genes had moved between two incredibly different species, and amazingly still worked. Even more interesting are the obvious advantages in lifestyle these genes provide the sea slugs.

Our chloroplast farming, gene stealing sea slug should be the inspiration for the clean energy future we need. Energy solutions lie not in the fossilised organisms under our national parks, but in the amazing information stored in our living and breathing biodiversity. We just need to spot the technology already in existence, and use a bit of initiative to get it to work for us. Then we too can bask in the sunlight of free energy.

These images are of the sea slug, and its algal prey. They are photos from one of the researchers websites.