Thylakoids

Organelle Details
Thylakoids	[[File:|center|100px]]
[[File:|300px]]
Base Cost (MP)	50
Requires Nucleus	No
Processes	Chromatophore Photosynthesis, Glycolysis
Enzymes	None
Size (Hexes)	1
Osmoregulation Cost	1
Storage	0.5
Unique	No
Upgrades	None
Internal Name	chromatophore

Thylakoids are clusters of proteins and photosensitive pigments. The pigments are able to use the energy of sunlight to produce glucose from water and gaseous carbon dioxide in a process called photosynthesis. These pigments are also what give them a distinctive colour. The rate of their glucose production scales with the concentration of carbon dioxide and intensity of sunlight. Since the thylakoids are suspended directly in the cytoplasm, the surrounding fluid performs some glycolysis.

Requirements

No requirements

Processes

Chromatophore Photosynthesis: Sunlight + Carbon Dioxide → Glucose + Oxygen

Glycolysis: Glucose → ATP

Modifications

No modifications

Effects

No special effects.

Upgrades

No upgrades.

Strategy

Thylakoids require light (measured in lux) in order to produce glucose, and thus are only viable in surface-level patches such as the epipelagic, or tidepools. Thus it is very important that the player make sure that they currently live in a valid patch before relying on photosynthesis. Once established, building an effective photosynthesizer is as simple as ensuring that there is net positive glucose production in the cell, and enough energy to sustain it. If it seems like you might not produce enough glucose to stay alive, fret not! Much of a cell's energy consumption is from movement which is entirely optional for a cell that does not need to find it's food, so sitting still can drastically increase net glucose production.

In the presence of a day/night cycle, building an effective photosynthetic cell can become challenging. Place as many photosynthesizing parts as you can afford to ensure maximum glucose production, as well as a decent amount of storage enhancing parts to allow you to store more glucose for the long night ahead. If your glucose stores are low, it is strongly reccomended to sit still so as to consume much less energy, or otherwise pursue prey if you have a mixotrophic setup.

Once night falls, you are likely to begin consuming a scary amount of energy now that you are no longer producing any glucose. Fear not! Sit still to conserve energy and ride out the night until morning.

It is highly recommended that you reproduce around morning time when lux levels begin to rise, as after reproducing you will have halved your glucose storage which can potentially leave you for dead in middle of the night.

Scientific Background

TBA