This is one that was covered by a lot of mainstream news outlets, so you might have already seen it (you MSM zombie, you)...in a cool little biological trick that I'm honestly surprised hasn't been achieved before, researchers anchored by a group at the University of Tokyo have gotten chloroplasts to carry out photosynthesis in hamster cells. Mammalian cells making food from light...pretty cool if you ask me. You can check out the paper (from the Proceedings of the Japan Academy, Series B) at this link, and the university's press release can be found here.
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| Fluorescence microscopy image from the press release. The chloroplasts are magenta, while cell nuclei are light blue. |
This is one of those things that really gets the imagination firing, and most of us who are drawn to science fiction and/or fantasy have probably already thought about this possibility at some point. And obviously, it brings to mind the green-skinned characters of fantasy lore, like Warhammer's...er, Greenskins...
It's also a fairly well-known "rule" of biology that mammals aren't green. When those who craft fantasy fiction feel the need to justify green pigmentation in a humanoid species, the likely explanations are reptilian ancestry or some sort of photosynthetic machinery. In Warhammer, for example, I believe the lore is that Greenskins, already an assemblage of fungal species, also have a symbiotic relationship with algae. It's unclear, as far as I know, exactly what the mechanics of this symbiosis may be, but I don't think there's ever been an implication that the algae are inside the creature's cells (but please do correct me if I'm wrong!).
This new paper takes things a step further, with chloroplasts (the site of photosynthesis in plants and algae) being isolated from red algae and incorporated directly into the animal cells, where they kept on working away like all those other organelles you remember from high school biology...the mitochondria and Golgi apparatuses and all. It's a very different result from the researchers' expectation that the little algae bits would be digested by the hamster cells. Which, y'know, when in doubt, is probably a good idea for an animal cell to do when it finds it has taken up a random foreign organelle that resembles bacteria.
Also kind of fun: It appears that these hybrid creations are often referred to as "planimal" cells. It sounds like a failed '80s toyline.
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As far as fantasy species go, orcs and goblins are probably the most commonly green characters, but elves occasionally get this treatment as well. In Magic: The Gathering, for example, the well-known elf Glissa Sunseeker has been portrayed with green skin.
I also think it's interesting to look back at the green elves in the group of MTG sets known as the Onslaught Block. Over the course of those sets, various creatures were mutated to become purer expressions of the color of mana they represented. The blue wizards, for example, basically turned into water. Elves, meanwhile, came to resemble plants more and more. In the second set, Legions, we see some green (or at least greenish) elves...
(This included at least one creature that arguably looks, to an outsider, more goblin than elf...)
And then by the third set, Scourge, the elves were even more plant-like:
Something tells me there are chloroplasts in those elves' cells.
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Now, a species for gaming...
Emeraldkin
Attribute Points: 12
Min/Max:
Strength 1-5
Dexterity 1-6
Knowledge 1-5
Presence 1-5
Skill Distribution: 3/2/1
Special Skills: Can use Nature Magic without allocating any skill points to it; if this skill isn't chosen, it is treated as +0, and Nature Magic skill rolls use the character's Knowledge value.
Abilities: Able to see in low-light conditions; resistant to hunger
Emeraldkin are found in many realms among the multiverse. They appear very similar to Humans but are identified by their pointed ears and the greenish hue of their skin (due to the chloroplasts found in their skin cells). On some worlds, they are referred to as Elves, while residents of others will call them Orcs or even Goblins. They identify with none of these terms, however, and refer to themselves as Unliavel, broadly translated as Emeraldkin. It is thus far unknown what species they are closest to genetically; in general, though, they will associate with all other groups who maintain a similar connection to nature.
The photosynthetic skin cells of Emeraldkin allow them to go much longer than other humanoid species without food. While they cannot wholly abandon eating, in conditions of sufficient light and water, they can easily go up to 10 days in between meals. This is rarely necessary; Emeraldkin are usually very knowledgeable about the natural environment and are capable of obtaining food in almost any situation, although the vast majority rely on vegetarian sustenance only. Overall, their connection to the natural world and low need for resources make them ideal adventuring companions.
