They’re larger than life and will light up your life: Transgenic Fish

A transgenic organism is genetically engineered to express genes from another species by inserting the desired gene into the DNA of a fertilized egg. Many species of fish have had a transgene inserted into their genome to produce a desired phenotypic characteristic. The most common phenotype targeted is growth rate. This is achieved by incorporating a growth hormone gene into the DNA of the fish. At the other end of the spectrum, researchers at the National University of Singapore incorporated the fluorescence gene from a sea anemone into a zebra fish. The result was a fish that fluoresced. Commonly called the Glofish, it became the first marketed transgenic pet.

The production of transgenic fish for commercial trade would provide many advantages to fishing industries worldwide; however faces many ethical limitations.

Transgenic Salmon with an incorporated growth hormone gene grow to extraordinarily large sizes within the same time span as compared with their wild type counterparts. This would increase the rate of aquaculture production by lowering the age at which target sale weight is reached, thus providing positive effects for the fishery industry. Also, the novelty of owning a fluorescing fish has developed and promoted a highly profitable commercial market for the Glofish within the pet industry.

A major limitation to any genetic modification is ethical considerations. Concerns about possible food safety issues and environmental impact of transgenic fish have restricted commercialisation and global trade. California, Canada, and the European Union have prohibited the import and sale of genetically modified fish for these reasons.

Miranda Flinn (41186194)