Glofish: Ecological Threat or Perfectly Harmless?
There was a time when all living things in heaven and earth were created by the hand of God, or a product of evolution, depending on you philosophical belief. That time is now gone, never to return. The creation of biogenetically engineered animals is becoming more and more common place. To date over 660 patents have been issued for genetically manipulated animals in United States alone and the number is increasing every year.
The Golfish just turned 10 years old. Happy birthbay! Just a decade ago there was no such thing as a Glofish. What exactly would be the purpose for making a fish glow? Good question, especially if you stop to consider how much easier they would for a potential predator to find and decide they might make a tasty snack. But the goal was not to create a fish that screamed out, “Here I am. Come eat me.” Nor was it to create an entirely new species for the thriving global ornamental fish industry. In fact, monetary gain did not come into play at all when in 1999 when Dr. Zhiyuan Gong and his team of bioengineers at NSU (the National University of Singapore) decide to genetically modify a preexisting freshwater species of fish to make it glow. So if eradicating a nuisance species by making it more easily detectable, or accumulating a vast fortune by creating a “must have” novelty item for the hungry fish hobbyist market was not the objective, then what was? As incredulous as it may sound, the objective was to create a fish that would selectively luminescence when it came into contact with environmental contaminants. Hmmm… a fish that fights pollution by tracking industrial ecological offenders to their source, we might be on to something here! Do you think it was a sheer coincidence that the first Glofish ever created was GREEN?
So exactly what is involved in creating a species that is biologically designed to help save the planet? The logical first step is to engineer a fish that glows to begin with. Once you have a fish that glows then you can set about tackling the issue of selective bioluminescence.
These were the problems faced by bioengineering team in Singapore a decade ago. Of course before you can make a fish glow, you must first have a fish. The team settled on the Brachydanio reri, a species endemic to East India, more commonly referred to as a zebra danio or zebrafish because of it horizontal striping. Why choose a fish that isn’t indigenous to Singapore? This could have been strictly a matter of convenience. Most of the world’s supply of this popular minnow variety is raised on fish farms, one of which is located in Singapore. Acquisitioning a batch of fish eggs for scientific research would seem preferable to a bunch of geneticists wading around in streams with fish nets in hand.
The scientists then turned to the jellyfish for the initial phase in the creation of their aquatic toxic detective. Aequorea victoria, more commonly known as crystal jellyfish, contains the bioluminescent gene GPF (Green Fluorescent Protein). When injected into a zebrafish embryo, the addition of GPF produced a fish that absorbed and then readmitted light from the green spectrum. A variant of this jellyfish gene caused the resulting offspring to fluoresce yellow. RFP (Red Fluorescent Protein) derived from sea coral of the genus discosoma created zebrafish that luminescence in red. While this scientific feat was amazing in and of itself, it was only the first step in creating a fish that would actually glow when exposed to toxic waste material. What they did create, however, was a previously nonexistent transgenic species that would go on to spark controversy around the world.
Just a few short decades ago, microwaves and VCRs were competing for the number one hotspot of must have new items in the marketplace. There was no such thing as a cell phone or an ipod. The world’s top techno-giants continually compete for their market share in the latest new gadget technology has to offer. But the mass marketing of a genetically engineered living organism to the public was virgin territory. This thought did not daunt future “biopreneurs” Alan Blake and Richard Crockett of Yorktown Technologies in Austin, Texas. They wasted no time in negotiating contracts to become the exclusive worldwide distributors of the fluorescing zebrafish, a.k.a Glofish.
One would think that the marketing of a novelty item (even one that is genetically engineered) within the booming aquarium trade industry would be of little national interest. Think again! The gene that was inserted into zebrafish to make them fluoresce was immediately deemed a drug. As such the environmental risk assessment of the proposed commercial distribution of Glofish fell within the jurisdiction of U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Yorktown Technologies complied with two years of extensive environmental risk assessment research and consultation with various State and Federal agencies to procure the right to sell these fish to the public. In Dec. 2003, the FDA ruled that since Glofish are not designated to be part of the nation’s food supply they did not fall within their jurisdiction. Yorktown Tech was summarily granted the right to move forward at the federal level. The state of California, however, was not convinced. They did back down from their original stance and agreed to allow the sell of Glofish if Yorktown submitted to more extensive research in the area of risk assessment. Unfortunately, said research would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and take years to complete. Glofish have been sold in 49 of the 50 states in the U.S. since Dec. 2003. The sell or possession of Glofish is still prohibited in the State of California.
Bioengineered transgenic manipulation aside, environmentalist have long expressed concern about the potential ecological ramifications of nonnative species being intentionally or even accidentally introduced to an established ecosystem. It is for this same reason that the sell or possession of piranha is illegal in most of the U.S. There are document case studies where the global availability of various species of aquarium fish has resulted in the introduction and proliferation of non-indigenous species. One such example is the plati fish (Xiphophorus maculates). The plati is native to southern Tamaulipas and northern Vera Cruz, states in northeastern Mexico. This species is particularly well suited for slower moving freshwater systems such as canals, ditches and warm springs. They have established significant populations in the United States in the canal systems of Tampa Bay and Gainesville, Florida. They have become naturalized in the state of Montana. They have also acclimated to the freshwaters of Columbia, Singapore, and Hong Kong. Hong Kong ecologists report that these “illegal aliens” are creating an adverse impact on their aquatic ecosystems due to the plati’s prolific breading habits. The tilapia, a cichlid native to the Amazon River Basin, has been deemed a nuisance species in the southern US after populations sprang up from what was undoubtedly an aquarium trade related release into the wild.
When the glofish was first engineered, the geneticists who masterminded its creation undoubtedly did not envision the possibility that they had just created what was destined to be the quickest selling and most controversial fish ever to hit the ornamental fish trade market. The zebra danio, however, has been actively sold in U.S. markets for over 50 years to the tune of over 200 million fish. While there have been a few isolated reports of zebrafish spotted in the wild, aquarium trade related releases have failed to establish a reproducing population. This species, whether natural or genetically manipulated, are incapable of surviving in the temperate climate zone blanketing the majority of North America.
Since Glofish went on sale in 2003, scientists in various parts of the globe have successfully incorporated the fluorescing gene into rabbits, pigs, dogs and cats. The transition to mammals was undoubtedly inevitable. Given the rate of scientific progress perhaps it is understandable why many nations around the world decided it prudent to outright ban transgenic organisms for any purpose other than scientific research. That said; Glofish by their very nature are confined to a captive environment. If zebrafish, accidentally or intentionally introduced into the wild, posed a quantifiable ecological threat to the planet’s freshwater ecosystems that threat would have been apparent long before geneticists infused a fluorescing gene into their genome. Adding a fluorescent fish to your aquarium is a far cry from buying a glowing kitten or puppy dog for your kids. Half the dogs and cats in the neighborhood won’t be mysteriously glowing under a black light a year later.
Glofish are minnows. Minnows work great in smaller tanks. They would be perfectly suited for an Aquavista Wall Mounted Aquarium. If you enjoyed this article, find out more interesting tidbits about the world’s favorite freshwater aquarium fish by visiting the Online fish buying guide.