Glowing Fish !!!

[matt]

http://www.afaa.com.au/news/news-1328.asp

check this out

 

[aaron]

those lok coool... anyone have one??

 

[sari]

The first genetically modified pet? That just doesn't seem right...

I don't want to know what's next

 

[jennifer]

There are already glow-in-the-dark Xenopus. It's only a matter of time until they get into the pet trade (not to say that I'm in favor of that).

 

[kaysie]

i've seen the glow in the dark Xenopus... they're very interesting looking...

i dont think i'd mind a few glow in the dark pets. make a good nightlight, i'd think

 

[elisabeth]

I don't see how they can glow. They're just a really bright color.
And, none of you would buy a glow in the dark newt if they had one? I would!

 

[mark]

Is it true they glow like that because they have been pumped full of chemicals?
Just, i heard that some were(cant remember)

 

[TJ]

There's a kind of transparent tropical fish that's sold here in Japan that is injected with dye at some point to create these blue, orange, green fluorescent colors. Not that this topic has anything to do with caudates...

 

[leonardo]

glowing Xenopus and coloured fish are different things:
-the "glass fish" (Chanda sp.) is almost completely transparent...some traders inject artificial colour under the skin, so they become "Chanda color"...obviously this procedure often kill the fish or damage its body...
-glowing Xenopus...I THINK they are genetically changed animals...I heard that some scientists "mixed" the DNA of mice with that of Jellifish, and they obtained "glowing mice"...I thinks it's the same with Xenopus...

I would not increase the trade of this kind of animals...

bye
Leo

 

[jennifer]

There are some fish with dyes added to make them brightly colored. The glo-fish zebra fish are like this, but the dye is genetic, not pumped in.

There are also gene-spliced animals that contain green fluorescent protein (GFP). GFP is the protein that makes bacteria on the surface of the ocean glow at night. It really does produce it's own light (not just being bright or reflective). Glowing zebrafish and Xenopus already exist in labs. And I wouldn't be surprised if glowing axolotls are produced some day.

 

[jesper]

I have worked a little with GFP(green flourescent protein) as a tag for proteins and I can say that playing around with GFP is not advisable. GFP is a pretty big protein and often changes the function of the protein that is tagged. It would be interesting to know which protein has been tagged. I cant believe that will not hurt the animal...

 

[jennifer]

Jesper, in these animals, they do not tag the GFP onto another protein. They just put in under the control of a promoter that expresses it where and they want it, then add it to the animal's chromosomes. In most cases, it does not change the structure of any normal protein in the animal.

 

[matt]

Jasper, I find this to be completely fascinating.
I have been looking this up since I found out about this fish a couple of days ago.
all of the websites I have found seem to be more on the protein and less on the scientific process that is undergone to make the animal / fish take in this protein.

How is this done? You can just point me to the right direction if its to much work to list in the forum. Like the name of the process would be fine.

Thanks,
Matt

 

[matt]

Sorry Jen didn't see you listing.

Do you have anymore info on this.

 

[jennifer]

Putting genes into zebrafish is nothing new, it's done every day. I haven't looked, but you could probably find protocols on the internet. However, I'm sure the company won't tell anyone what gene or promoter they put in to make the color.

 

[tara]

The gene itself is probably not put in any specific place in the genome. Gene trapping involves simply placing the foreign gene or gene of interest into a plasmid and injecting the plasmid into the nucleus of an egg (or placing it into a culture and providing electricity whereby the plasmid is taken up into the nucleus) and just hoping it is inserted somewhere along one of the chromosomes. Uptake is screened for and then the location of the inserted plasmid is determined. Those ones that are of interest are kept and studied. It may be that this red protein was not bound to any specific promotor. In the case of these fish it is likely that whatever promoter it is bound to is a general one for a muscle protein or something like ubiquitin (a Drosophila gene) which is ubiquitously expressed (hence the name).
Fluorescence itself (at least in the case of GFP-a gene from jellyfish, and dsRED -which is a gene from coral) is not visible except under UV light.

 

[duncan]

We talk about transgenic animals in the high school Biology class I teach. I have a good photo I use of the fluorescent mice that Leonardo mentioned. There is also a pretty decent explanation of the uses of such technology in the following article (plus a pic of a fluorescing mouse paw)
news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/01/0111_020111genmice.html
Duncan

 

[duncan]

Here's some genetically modified medaka fish! I received this photo from a colleague over a year ago and am not sure of its original source.

Enjoy!
Duncan

(Message edited by duncan on November 28, 2003)

 

[sari]

Is everyone (morally) ok with all this? Genetically modified pets... Many people feel strongly against genetically modified foods, and i think the same would apply to genetically modified pets... It just feels wrong... Modifying the genetic structure of an organism, and in this case, just so that it looks more appealing? Biotechnology of this sort really frightens me...

BTW, today is Buy Nothing Day...

 

[rob]

Hi Sari,

To play the devils advocate, we have been eating genetically modified foods and having genetically modified pets for thousands of years. We're simply using different means now. In the past if one plant/animal exhibited a trait we desired, we would find another with the same, similar, or an additional trait we would like, and mate them. Doing this, year after year for hundreds of years has produced the different breeds of dogs, ears of corn, and strawberry plants that bloom twice a year to mention a few.

To be 100% honest, I do not see any difference between the two from a moral standpoint. I do agree the way we are currently modifying animals and food allows us to change alot about the animals, more so then selective breeding was ever able to, but I don't think that changes anything in my eyes. Same consequences through different methods, and I'm all for it.