Departamento de Biologia and CESAM, Universidade de Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal.
J Exp Bot. 2013 Oct;64(13):3999-4009. doi: 10.1093/jxb/ert197. Epub 2013 Jul 11.
Some species of sacoglossan sea slugs can maintain functional chloroplasts from specific algal food sources in the cells of their digestive diverticula. These 'stolen' chloroplasts (kleptoplasts) can survive in the absence of the plant cell and continue to photosynthesize, in some cases for as long as one year. Within the Metazoa, this phenomenon (kleptoplasty) seems to have only evolved among sacoglossan sea slugs. Known for over a century, the mechanisms of interaction between the foreign organelle and its host animal cell are just now starting to be unravelled. In the study of sacoglossan sea slugs as photosynthetic systems, it is important to understand their relationship with light. This work reviews the state of knowledge on autotrophy as a nutritional source for sacoglossans and the strategies they have developed to avoid excessive light, with emphasis to the behavioural and physiological mechanisms suggested to be involved in the photoprotection of kleptoplasts. A special focus is given to the advantages and drawbacks of using pulse amplitude modulated fluorometry in photobiological studies addressing sacoglossan sea slugs. Finally, the classification of photosynthetic sacoglossan sea slugs according to their ability to retain functional kleptoplasts and the importance of laboratory culturing of these organisms are briefly discussed.
一些腹足纲动物的海蛞蝓可以从其消化道憩室的特定藻类食物来源中维持功能性叶绿体。这些“偷来的”叶绿体（盗食性叶绿体）可以在没有植物细胞的情况下存活，并继续进行光合作用，在某些情况下，最长可持续一年。在后生动物中，这种现象（盗食性光合作用）似乎只在腹足纲动物的海蛞蝓中进化出来。这种现象已经被人们认识了一个多世纪，但是目前才刚刚开始揭示外来细胞器与其宿主动物细胞之间的相互作用机制。在研究作为光合作用系统的腹足纲动物时，了解它们与光的关系非常重要。这项工作综述了腹足纲动物作为自养营养源的知识现状，以及它们为避免过度光照而发展的策略，重点介绍了可能涉及盗食性叶绿体光保护的行为和生理机制。特别关注的是使用脉冲幅度调制荧光法在研究腹足纲动物海蛞蝓的光生物学研究中的优缺点。最后，简要讨论了根据其保留功能性盗食性叶绿体的能力对光合性腹足纲动物海蛞蝓进行分类的问题，以及培养这些生物的重要性。
