GloFish

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A common zebrafish.

GloFish ( English glow fish "light fish") is the brand name for four genetically modified species ( zebra fish , Sumatra Barbe , black tetra and minnow ), as a result of a genetic engineering procedure fluoresce . The rights holder and breeder is the US company Yorktown Technologies .

In 1999, the gene coding for the green fluorescent protein (GFP) from the jellyfish Aequorea victoria was cloned into the genome of a zebrafish at the National University of Singapore . The genetically modified fish fluoresce in daylight or artificial light. The original purely scientific approach was to create a model organism with which the water quality can be monitored by means of changes in fluorescence. Later, the colors red - from the genome of a coral - and yellow from another jellyfish gene were added as variants . The genetically modified zebrafish came on the market as pets in 2004. They are the first genetically modified animals available as pets .

Legal position

In the European Union as in Canada , the distribution and breeding of genetically modified animals is prohibited. In 2007, illegally imported fluorescent zebrafish appeared in Germany for the first time.

In the USA, however, the fish can be sold without a permit. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not raised any concerns about the environmental impact or potential risk to public health because ornamental fish are not intended for human consumption. The exception was the state of California , where the trading and possession of genetically modified fish was prohibited even before the GloFish was launched. This ban was issued out of concern for a fast growing salmon . However, since there was no evidence that the tropical "luminous fish" pose a threat to the local fish population, trade and ownership were also permitted in California in 2015.

Trivia

In the television series The Big Bang Theory , the main character Dr. Sheldon Cooper - as a result of mental underload - light fish as a night light substitute . The idea and comprehensive sales plans are dismissed as absurd by those around him.

Web links

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ unknown: Forbidden luminous fish appeared in Germany. In: Spiegel-Online from March 19, 2007
  2. ^ Food and Drug Administration: FDA Statement Regarding Glofish ( Memento from April 2, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Web archive from April 2, 2010
  3. ^ Department of Fish and Wildlife: Sales of GloFish in California [1]
  4. ↑ Breeder's website: GloFish in California
  5. ↑ The Big Bang Theory , Season 1, Episode 4: The Light Fish Idea