Scientists in Japan have created a plant-animal hybrid cell, essentially an animal cell that can get energy from sunlight like a plant. This breakthrough could have major benefits for growing organs and tissues for transplants, or meat grown in the lab.
Animal cells and plant cells have different internal energy-producing structures. In animals, it is the mitochondria, which convert chemical energy from food into a form that the cell can use. Plants and algae, on the other hand, use chloroplasts, which perform photosynthesis to generate energy from sunlight to power cells.
In a new study led by the University of Tokyo, a team of researchers inserted chloroplasts into animal cells and found that the chloroplasts continued to perform photosynthetic functions for at least two days. Chloroplasts were sourced from red algae, and animal cells were cultured from hamsters.
Previous research had successfully transplanted chloroplasts into yeast, giving them new photosynthetic abilities. But it’s a fungus, and doing it in animals is next level.
The researchers essentially cultured hamster cells and isolated chloroplasts together for two days and looked for signs of chlorophyll to determine whether the animal cells had taken up the chloroplasts. This compound plays an important role in chloroplasts but normally would not be present in animal cells, so its presence was a good indicator that the method worked. Conveniently, they naturally fluoresce under certain wavelengths of light.
When the researchers shined a specific type of laser light on the cells, they could immediately see the chlorophyll, and thus the chloroplasts, inside the hamster cells. Using another technique called pulse amplitude modulation fluorescence analysis, they confirmed that the chloroplasts were still photosynthesizing.
“To our knowledge, this is the first reported detection of photosynthetic electron transport in chloroplasts transplanted into animal cells,” said Professor Yukihiro Matsunaga, corresponding author of the study. “We thought that chloroplasts were digested by animal cells within hours of introduction. But what we discovered is that they remain functional for up to two days and are an important part of photosynthetic activity. There was a transportation incident.”
Interestingly, the research team also noticed that hamster cells grew faster than normal while being cultured with chloroplasts. This suggests that they provide a new carbon source and may suggest new potential applications for these hybrid batteries.
“I believe this research will be useful for cell tissue engineering,” Matsunaga said. “Tissues cultured in the laboratory, such as artificial organs, artificial meat, and skin sheets, are composed of multiple cell layers. However, hypoxic conditions (low oxygen concentrations) within the tissues prevent cell division. By mixing cells with transplanted chloroplasts, oxygen is supplied to the cells through photosynthesis and light irradiation, improving the internal state of the tissue and allowing growth. ”
This research was published in the Japan Academy Proceedings Series B.
Source: University of Tokyo
