This fish that scientists have bioengineered to glow in the dark has escaped captivity
Scientists in Singapore originally designed GloFish to detect pollution in water. They created the fish in the late 1990s by injecting blue and green biofluorescence genes from jellyfish and red biofluorescence genes from corals into the developing eggs of zebrafish. Some of these transgenic zebrafish fluoresced brightly under both natural white light and ultraviolet light.
The Atlantic Forest biome is a biodiversity hotspot, one of Brazil’s most biodiverse regions, so escaped GloFish are raising alarms amongst scientists because these fluorescent transgenic fish could potentially disrupt the finely balanced ecosystems if they further invade.suspected TK-2 in the largest ornamental aquaculture center in Brazil, southern hemisphere. TK-2 fish insert : Green strain /red strain under daylight. Municipalities: Muriaé, Vieiras.
Are GloFish being continually released into these headwaters, or are they becoming established? Although most fishkeepers claim GloFish are infertile, Dr Magalhães found that at least a few escaped GloFish are reproducing in the wild. “Breeding females and males were found at small body sizes, indicating early maturation”, Dr Magalhães described in email, “and these transgenic females produced a moderate amount of small oocytes.”
Are GloFish likely to share their biofluorescent genes with the native wildlife? Probably not. One study found no evidence that GloFish are transferring their fluorescence genes to other animals . Further, introduced GloFish may not glow forever. This same study also found that wild-type male zebrafish are more aggressive than GloFish and thus, were better at winning mates than their glowing counterparts — although it must be noted that female zebrafish preferred fluorescent mates.
What can be done to prevent this likely invasive species from establishing itself in the Atlantic Forest? Dr Magalhães and his collaborators proposed several management recommendations in their study.
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