Photosynthesis have formed symbiotic relationships with photosynthetic algae. These are most common in corals, sponges and sea anemones. It is presumed that this is due to the particularly simple body plans and large surface areas of these animals compared to their volumes. In addition, a few marine mollusks "Elysia viridis" and "Elysia chlorotica" also maintain a symbiotic relationship with chloroplasts they capture from the algae in their diet and then store in their bodies. This allows the mollusks to survive solely by photosynthesis for several months at a time. Some of the genes from the plant cell nucleus have even been
Artificial photosynthesis predicted to be useful for this topic. Microbiological and enzymatic engineering have the potential of improving enzyme efficiency and robustness, as well as constructing new biofuel-producing metabolic pathways in photoautotrophs that previously lack them, or improving on the existing ones. Another topic being developed is the optimization of photobioreactors for commercial application. Research in artificial photosynthesis is necessarily a multidisciplinary topic, requiring a multitude of different expertise. Some techniques employed in making and investigating catalysts and solar cells include: Advantages of solar fuel production through artificial photosynthesis include: Disadvantages include: A concern usually addressed in catalyst design is efficiency, in