• Justin@lemmy.jlh.name
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    11 days ago

    homo sapiens is known to use photosynthesis through symbiotic relationships with various grasses to create sugars, lipids, and proteins for itself

    • Tlaloc_Temporal@lemmy.ca
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      11 days ago

      Eh, that’s a few dozen steps removed. By that standard, every herbivore “uses” photosynthesis.

      These guys (coral & lichen too) use photosynthesis much more directly, completely encapsulating the algea and supporting it internally. It’s much closer to mitochondria.

      • Justin@lemmy.jlh.name
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        11 days ago

        True haha, thats a good distinction. I’m just joking here.

        Kind of interesting that chloroplasts in plants seem to be a sort of symbiosis as well, like mitochondria, considering the cell walls around them.

        • deltapi@lemmy.world
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          11 days ago

          Yes, they are distinct organelles with their own DNA, so you are spot on with the comparison to mitochondria