Cal State LA Professor Patrick Krug next to water tanks filled with marine species at his lab.
Photo provided by J. Emilio Flores/Cal State LA for The Eastsider
EL SERENO—The photosynthetic sea slugs in Cal State Los Angeles Professor Patrick Krug’s lab may only be the size of raisins, but their potential is unlimited. Krug believes they could one day help cure cancer, improve clean energy technology and reveal the secrets of regenerative medicine.
Krug has spent 30 years delving into the watery world of marine invertebrates, squishy creatures without backbones that are more abundant than any living thing on land or in the air.
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“These species are marvelously adapted to particular niches,” he said, pointing to a type of sea worm that lives off the bones of whales.
Krug is currently focused on a sea slug known as Elysia. The species has adapted and, like plants, can harness the energy of the sun. “It’s a hard reset on my understanding of life,” Krug said.
Elysia eat only seaweed, but instead of immediately digesting the chloroplasts (dictionary definition: a plastid that contains chlorophyll and in which photosynthesis takes place), the slugs live off them for months. “Imagine all the time we’d save if we didn’t have to shop, prepare and eat food,” says Krug.
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There’s more! Elysia can perform extreme regeneration—detaching their heads and growing an entire new body in a few weeks.
Krug’s lab is swimming with a type of Elysia found along the coast of California. The leaf-like slugs have been surviving on photosynthesis for more than a month, and offer students an up-close look into the wonders of the ocean.
Over the years, Krug has shepherded many local students who find jobs in biotechnology or environmental consulting industries.
“I am surprised how many students who grew up in East Los Angeles had never been to the beach,” he said, explaining how students ask to bring their parents or roommates along on an ocean field trip. “You don’t need a special reason to visit. The ocean is always there for you.”
Elysia hedgepethi nibbles on an algae branch.
Photo by Benjamin Eddy for the Eastsider
Elysia hedgepethi nibbles on an algae branch.
Photo by Benjamin Eddy for the Eastsider
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