PolyhymniasPeripheralPerceptions

Photosynthetic Animals

"its very possible the humans will ensure at least some additional animals photosynthesize"

Do you know of any research into genetically modifying an organism to use photosynthesis for extra energy? I see applications for space colonization, it would be nice to have meat, and meat would be even better if you didn't have to feed it so much food. Also pack animals would presumably behave better having a ready supply of glucose in the blood for energy. Just some ideas... It seems like it really was just bad luck. Evolution is great at taking some small advantage and spreading the genes that code for it around the population over time. So unless the chloroplasts themselves take too much energy to produce (not likely since ideally the "chloroplast phenotype" would only be expressed in skin cells ) or the genes required for them are too many putting additional costs on cell division it seems that even the slight advantages of having some solar energy used would stay in the genome. Perhaps I have stumbled onto my own answer. If chloroplasts were in every cell of the body they might be too expensive. Chloroplast, I believe, have their own separate genome similar to mytocondria in animal cells. These organelles are passed on through the mother's eggs. Which are not skin cells obviously.... but I suspect the genetic coding to make gametes contain chloroplast also would not be too large. --Dave1g 03:43, 5 May 2007 (UTC)