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(OE)","award":["UIDP\/50017\/2020+UIDB\/50017\/2020+LA\/P\/0094\/2020"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["UIDP\/50017\/2020+UIDB\/50017\/2020+LA\/P\/0094\/2020"]}]},{"name":"national funds (OE)","award":["UIDB\/50011\/2020+UIDP\/50011\/2020+LA\/P\/0006\/2020"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["UIDB\/50011\/2020+UIDP\/50011\/2020+LA\/P\/0006\/2020"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Biology"],"abstract":"<jats:p>A handful of sea slugs of the order Sacoglossa are able to steal chloroplasts\u2014kleptoplasts\u2014from their algal food sources and maintain them functionally for periods ranging from several weeks to a few months. In this study, we investigated the role of kleptoplast photosynthesis on mucus production by the tropical sea slug Elysia crispata. Animals reared for 5 weeks in quasi dark (5 \u03bcmol photons m\u22122 s\u22121) showed similar growth to those under regular light (60\u201390 \u03bcmol photons m\u22122 s\u22121), showing that kleptoplast photosynthesis was not relevant for growth when sea slugs were fed ad libitum. However, when subjected to short-term desiccation stress, animals reared under regular light produced significantly more mucus. Furthermore, the carbohydrate content of secreted mucus was significantly lower in slugs limited in the photosynthetic activity of their kleptoplasts by quasi-dark conditions. This study indicates that photosynthesis supports the synthesis of protective mucus in kleptoplast-bearing sea slugs.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/biology11081207","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,8,14]],"date-time":"2022-08-14T21:09:06Z","timestamp":1660511346000},"page":"1207","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":8,"title":["Sea Slug Mucus Production Is Supported by Photosynthesis of Stolen Chloroplasts"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"11","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9454-2278","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Diana","family":"Lopes","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"ECOMARE\u2014Laboratory for Innovation and Sustainability of Marine Biological Resources, CESAM\u2014Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies, Department of Chemistry, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4775-8161","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"S\u00f3nia","family":"Cruz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"ECOMARE, CESAM, Department of Biology, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Patr\u00edcia","family":"Martins","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"ECOMARE, CESAM, Department of Biology, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2519-8979","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"S\u00f3nia","family":"Ferreira","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"CICECO\u2014Aveiro Institute of Materials, Department of Chemistry, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7217-2790","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Cl\u00e1udia","family":"Nunes","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"CICECO, Department of Materials and Ceramic Engineering, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8060-7675","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Pedro","family":"Domingues","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Mass Spectrometry Centre, LAQV-REQUIMTE\u2014Associated Laboratory for Green Chemistry of the Network of Chemistry and Technology, Department of Chemistry, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5088-843X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Paulo","family":"Cartaxana","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"ECOMARE, CESAM, Department of Biology, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,8,12]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"20130242","DOI":"10.1098\/rstb.2013.0242","article-title":"Photophysiology of kleptoplasts: Photosynthetic use of light by chloroplasts living in animal cells","volume":"369","author":"Cruz","year":"2014","journal-title":"Philos. 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