(Related: "Chemical BPA Linked to Heart Disease, Study Confirms.") "So we can target the heart and try to look at the mechanics of what is happening." "We do see in this fish that the heart glows particularly in response to bisphenol A," Tyler said. The data should help identify the thresholds at which the chemicals affect various tissues and organs in the body.įor instance, observing the glowing fish confirmed previous findings, such as a link between bisphenol A and heart problems. The researchers exposed the fish to different endrocrine disruptors at varying concentrations, and then used a microscope to see which of the small fish's organs glowed-and thus responded-to the chemicals. (Related: "Sex-Changing Chemicals Found in Potomac River.") Tyler and team exposed the zebrafish to varying levels of chemicals known to affect the hormone estrogen, including ethinyloestradiol, found in contraceptive pills nonylphenol, present in paints and industrial detergents and bisphenol A (BPA), a component of many plastics.Īll of these substances have become common freshwater pollutants that are connected to problems such as gender changes in fish and decreased fertility and increased cases of cancer in people. (See "Glowing Animals: Beasts Shining for Science.") "This, in turn provides a more 'intelligent' way of identifying where the potential health impacts might be" in people. "This genetic machinery produces proteins which don't interfere with the way these chemicals act in the body, but they fluoresce green under a fluorescent microscope, providing a reporting system to identify which body tissues are being affected. "We've essentially put genetic elements within the fish , over time, that are specifically designed to identify where the chemicals penetrate and act within the body," said study leader Charles Tyler at the U.K.'s University of Exeter. So a team genetically engineered zebrafish to glow in places where an endocrine-disrupting chemical is present-and thus show where it may be harming the body. Yet scientists have had difficulty tracking what endocrine disruptors do inside a person or an animal's body. Previous research has shown the chemicals cause fish to change gender, and in people, endocrine disruptors have been associated with lower sperm counts and breast and testicular cancers. The chemicals mimic the actions of sexual hormones, resulting in various reproductive problems in both people and animals. Yorktown Technologies realized how awesome genetic engineering is and they went ahead and purchased the rights to sell colorful fluorescent zebra fishes under the brand name GloFish.A genetically engineered fish that glows green from the inside out is helping illuminate what pollutants do inside the body.Įndocrine disruptors are substances found in a wide range of industrial products, including plastics, as well as in many female contraceptives.
Now, when you have something as cool as that, you know people will love it. Fishes with constant fluorescence was just the first step. Their aim was to detect pollution by means of fishes that would shine when exposed to environmental toxins. The scientists had a good ecological and scientific reason to do so. Later, scientists used a gene from sea corals to get a red zebra fish and orange-yellow from a variant of the earlier jellyfish gene. The gene was added to the embryo so as to let it integrate into the genome of the zebra fish. This gene was derived from a jellyfish which is capable of producing green fluorescence naturally. To the zebra fish, they added a gene that controls fluorescence. Scientists used a zebra fish for this purpose. Such fluorescent fishes were created way back in 1999. Genetically engineered glowing fishes (Source: GloFish) With these cute little fluorescent swimmers, your aquarium will never be the same again. Get rid of all those bright annoying toys in your aquarium. One example is that we can get glowing fishes. Well, it might still be a longshot to create a pig that can literally fly or even a unicorn. Genetic engineering has allowed us to create animals that cannot be found in nature by changing a few genes here and there in the animal’s genome sequence.
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