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Indian fish in US hot waters: The Times of India
Washington, Nov 28: A species of fish native to the River Ganga that has been genetically manipulated by researchers is at the centre of a spat between conservation groups and biotech entrepreneurs.
Washington, Nov 28: A species of fish native to the River Ganga that has been genetically manipulated by researchers is at the centre of a spat between conservation groups and biotech entrepreneurs.
The tropical Zebra fish, which is indigenous to India and Bangladesh, has been infused with the gene of a sea anemone that makes it glow a fluorescent red.
Promoters of the fish, which has been trademarked GloFish, want to market it as the country’s first transgenic pet.
California wildlife managers on Wednesday agreed the pet stores could begin selling the dazzling pet, but reviews from conservation and consumer groups are not so glowing.
They have vowed to fight the release, arguing that it could usher in a new era of unregulated transgenic pets which could disrupt the ecological equilibrium and lead to the extinction of native fish.
Millions of dollars are riding on the development in a country where the pet business is a multi-billion dollar industry. The aquarium industry anticipates a big splash with Christmas sales of the fish, which is priced at around $5 apiece.
Zebra fish, which are translucent from the beginning, are around one to two inches long and normally light gray with black stripes.
They have been widely used in biomedical laboratories because they breed in huge numbers and their transparent embryos are easy to monitor.
By studying changes in early zebra fish development biologists have learned how vertebrate organisms, including humans, grow and mature.
More recently though, geneticists began splicing the fluorescent genes of jellyfish into zebra-fish eggs to act as genetic markers or to "light up" in the presence of toxins. One thing led to another.
Initially, researchers used the green fluorescent protein isolated from a jellyfish to produce green fish. Then they altered the proteins to create yellow fish. And lately, they cloned the red fluorescent protein from the IndoPacific sea anemone to create red fish.
Yorktown Technologies, a Texas-based company that has pioneered some of the changes insists GloFish is safe. Despite innumerable escapes from breeding pens and labs over the years, zebra fish have never established a wild colony in the non-tropical waters of the United States, officials say.
In fact, they argue, because the GloFish is fluorescent red, it is more likely to attract predators and is thus even less likely to survive.
Eco groups, including Greenpeace and the National Academy of Sciences, are not convinced. A coalition of conservation groups has sent a letter to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), among others, urging immediate intervention.
The tropical Zebra fish, which is indigenous to India and Bangladesh, has been infused with the gene of a sea anemone that makes it glow a fluorescent red.
Promoters of the fish, which has been trademarked GloFish, want to market it as the country’s first transgenic pet.
California wildlife managers on Wednesday agreed the pet stores could begin selling the dazzling pet, but reviews from conservation and consumer groups are not so glowing.
They have vowed to fight the release, arguing that it could usher in a new era of unregulated transgenic pets which could disrupt the ecological equilibrium and lead to the extinction of native fish.
Millions of dollars are riding on the development in a country where the pet business is a multi-billion dollar industry. The aquarium industry anticipates a big splash with Christmas sales of the fish, which is priced at around $5 apiece.
Zebra fish, which are translucent from the beginning, are around one to two inches long and normally light gray with black stripes.
They have been widely used in biomedical laboratories because they breed in huge numbers and their transparent embryos are easy to monitor.
By studying changes in early zebra fish development biologists have learned how vertebrate organisms, including humans, grow and mature.
More recently though, geneticists began splicing the fluorescent genes of jellyfish into zebra-fish eggs to act as genetic markers or to "light up" in the presence of toxins. One thing led to another.
Initially, researchers used the green fluorescent protein isolated from a jellyfish to produce green fish. Then they altered the proteins to create yellow fish. And lately, they cloned the red fluorescent protein from the IndoPacific sea anemone to create red fish.
Yorktown Technologies, a Texas-based company that has pioneered some of the changes insists GloFish is safe. Despite innumerable escapes from breeding pens and labs over the years, zebra fish have never established a wild colony in the non-tropical waters of the United States, officials say.
In fact, they argue, because the GloFish is fluorescent red, it is more likely to attract predators and is thus even less likely to survive.
Eco groups, including Greenpeace and the National Academy of Sciences, are not convinced. A coalition of conservation groups has sent a letter to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), among others, urging immediate intervention.