Scientists have discovered the world's first organism that can produce chlorophyll but does not perform photosynthesis.

The unprecedented animal is called a corallicolid because it is found in 70 percent of the planet's corals.

"This is the second most abundant cohabitant of coral on the planet and it hasn't been seen until now," Patrick Keeling, a botanist at the University of British Columbia, said in a news release. "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 a green pigment that absorbs energy from sunlight. The process of photosynthesis converts the absorbed energy into food.

"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 said.

Corallicolid is a member of a large phylum of parasites named Apicomplexa. Members of the phylum use an organelle called a plastid, a membrane-bound organelle where cholorphyll is produced and photosynthesis takes place.

Scientists have previously identified photosynthetic algae in healthy corals. Keeling and his colleagues hypothesize that corallicolid, a parasite, may have evolved from friend to foe.

The novel organism, described this week in the journal Nature, not only boasts a plastid, but also all four genes that code for the synthesis of cholorphyll.

"It's quite a head scratcher," said lead study author Waldan Kwong, a UBC postdoctoral research fellow. "We don't know why these organisms are holding on to these photosynthesis genes. There's some novel biology going on here, something we haven't seen before."

Related Links
Lands Beyond Beyond - extra solar planets - news and science
Life Beyond Earth

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Building blocks of DNA and RNA could have appeared together before life began on Earth
La Jolla CA (SPX) Apr 03, 2019
Scientists for the first time have found strong evidence that RNA and DNA could have arisen from the same set of precursor molecules even before life evolved on Earth about four billion years ago. The discovery, published April 1 in Nature Chemistry, suggests that the first living things on Earth may have used both RNA and DNA, as all cell-based life forms do now. In contrast, the prevailing scientific view - the "RNA World" hypothesis - is that early life forms were based purely on RNA, and only ... read more