Glofish
a genetically modified fish
What is it?
Glofish are tropical fish, that come in colors of red, blue, green, and orange. They can be bought for about $6-7 at a pet store (since 2003). Glofish have been genetically modified by scientists. They have added a fluorescence gene from a sea coral to the zebra fish's eggs in order to produce glofish. It was originally created in order to detect environmental toxins, however, now they are used as entertainment because they cannot survive in the wild because of the water's temperature.
How did it Start?
It all began with a single fish. The source of the florescence color came from jellyfish, sea anemones, coral and sea pansies. That gene was then injecting into the eggs of the Zebra fish and then when the egg hatches, it had the florescence gene. Since the first offspring, all other glofish have been the result of traditional breeding. The original use for the fish was to detect weather there was pollution . The toxins in the water will react with the protein gene, thus, making it glow when in danger.
Was it successful?
Well.. not really. The original intent was for the fish to glow just in polluted waters. However, they glow in all waters because they were unable to trigger the gene expression only in polluted waters. This wasn't a complete flop thoug, pet stores have used this as a merchandise product in order to reel in more money.
Pros
- do not cause harm to environment
- was a step forward in genetic engineering
- increases fish market
- easy to reproduce
- had additonal qualities such as gene therapy
Cons
- cannot be consumed
- cannot survive in cold waters
- have been banned because of GMOs (people do not think that it is ethical)
- distrubance of gentetic information
- doesn't fulfill original intentions
Event Information
Where can you get one?
ONLY $6 - 7 !!!
When?
Monday, Apr 27, 2015, 05:00 AM
Where?
Petco Animal Supplies, Mid Rivers Mall Drive, Saint Charles, MO, United States
About the Authors: Abby Dwyer & Sydney Matteson
Sources:
www.aboutfishonline.com/articles/glofish.html
www.glofish-GMO.weebly.com/pros-and-cons.html
WE LOVE GLOFISH!!
Twitter: @Abbz_Duuhwire