Elysia chlorotica is a sea slug that acquires chloroplasts by consuming an algal food source, Vaucheria litorea. The ingested chloroplasts are sequestered in the sea slug's digestive epithelium, where they actively photosynthesize for months after ingestion. In the algae, the algal nuclear genome encodes more than 90% but not all of the proteins required for chloroplast metabolism. Thus it is suspected that the sea slug actively maintains ingested chloroplasts, supplying them with photosynthetic proteins encoded in the sea slug genome. How would you determine whether the sea slug has acquired photosynthetic genes by horizontal gene transfer from its algal food source? Discuss the steps required for heritable endosymbiosis to eventuate, and their plausibility.

Key Concepts

Horizontal Gene Transfer (HGT)

Horizontal Gene Transfer refers to the process by which an organism incorporates genetic material from another organism without being its offspring. This can occur through various mechanisms, such as transformation, transduction, or conjugation. In the context of Elysia chlorotica, HGT would involve the transfer of photosynthetic genes from the algal food source to the sea slug, enabling it to maintain and utilize the chloroplasts it ingests.

Endosymbiotic Theory

The Endosymbiotic Theory posits that certain organelles, like chloroplasts and mitochondria, originated from free-living prokaryotes that were engulfed by ancestral eukaryotic cells. Over time, these engulfed organisms became integral to the host cell's metabolism. For Elysia chlorotica, understanding this theory helps explain how the sea slug might maintain functional chloroplasts and the potential for gene transfer to occur during this symbiotic relationship.

Gene Expression and Regulation

Gene Expression and Regulation involve the processes by which information from a gene is used to synthesize functional gene products, typically proteins. In Elysia chlorotica, the ability to express algal genes after ingestion would be crucial for maintaining chloroplast function. Investigating whether the sea slug can express these genes, possibly through regulatory mechanisms that allow for the integration of foreign DNA, is essential for understanding the implications of HGT in this context.