Scientists discover first organism with chlorophyll genes that doesn't photosynthesize
Source: University of British Columbia
APRIL 3, 2019
Scientists discover first organism with chlorophyll genes that doesn't photosynthesize
by University of British Columbia
For the first time scientists have found an organism that can produce chlorophyll but does not engage in photosynthesis.
The peculiar organism is dubbed 'corallicolid' because it is found in 70 per cent of corals around the world and may provide clues as to how to protect coral reefs in the future.
"This is the second most abundant cohabitant of coral on the planet and it hasn't been seen until now," says Patrick Keeling, a University of British Columbia botanist and senior researcher overseeing the study published in Nature. "This organism poses completely new biochemical questions. It looks like a parasite, and it's definitely not photosynthetic. But it still makes chlorophyll."
Chlorophyll is the green pigment found in plants and algae that allows them to absorb energy from sunlight during photosynthesis.
"Having chlorophyll without photosynthesis is actually very dangerous because chlorophyll is very good at capturing energy, but without photosynthesis to release the energy slowly it is like living with a bomb in your cells," Keeling says.
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Read more: https://phys.org/news/2019-04-scientists-chlorophyll-genes-doesnt-photosynthesize.html
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Related: A widespread coral-infecting apicomplexan with chlorophyll biosynthesis genes (Nature)
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