Glofish: Legal in 49 Out of 50 States

February 1st, 2010 | Author: Stephen J Broy

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?

Selective bioluminescence, this is indeed a lofty goal. How do you incorporate a biologically triggered light switch that automatically turns on in the presence of environmental contaminants? The logical answer is that you must first find a way make an animal glow. Only after the objective of bioluminescence is achieved, can you address the problem of biologically triggered selectivity.

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.

The creation of the world’s first florescent fish was bound to draw some attention. It did not take long for news of NUS’s success to reach the desks of entrepreneurs Alan Blake and Richard Crockett. They wasted no time in sewing up exclusive worldwide rights for the sell of Glofish. Yorktown Technologies of Austin, Texas then went to work commercially raising Glofish for the thriving aquarium trade industry. Fortunately for Blake and Crockett, fish farms for the production of zebra danios had been in existence in the southern parts of United States since as early as the 30s. It was not much of a leap to raise a species that is only a single gene removed.

See Glofish For Yourself

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.

There is far more to consider here than just the subject of genetic manipulation. Environmentalists have longed cautioned on the unforeseen and possibly devastating consequences of introducing an unknown factor into an established ecosystem. The sell of piranha is illegal in most of the United States and much of the world for fear that one of the most predacious species in existence will suddenly and irreversibly establish itself as the number one predator at the top of the food chain. Common sense dictates that this is perhaps the most extreme example one could come up with. While this is true, there are a number of instances relating to a new species being introduced into previously uninhabited aquatic eco-system. The southern platyfish of Central America has established feral populations in Florida, Montana, Columbia, Singapore and Hong Kong. Hong Kong ecologists have indicated that the introduction of this species inflicted serious damage on its freshwater ecosystems. The sword tail, another popular aquarium fish native to both North and South America, has reproduced at such an alarming rate that its presence is threatening the indigenous freshwater species of both Africa and Australia. Both of these species introductions into previously uninhabited waters are aquarium trade related. Fish are not like an item in your local supermarket. Once they have made their way into the wild they can’t be subject to a product recall and quickly pulled off the shelf.

The complete globalization of the ornamental fish industry took place over a half a century ago. Hundreds of freshwater and saltwater species can be purchased as pets in virtually any industrialized nation in the world. In a day and age when both regional and national governmental agencies have no choice but to develop and implement AIS (Aquatic Invasive Species) management systems there has only been single instance of zebra danios successfully establishing a reproducing population in the wild. This population established itself in Columbia, coincidentally close to a fish farming facility that rears zebrafish for exportation. Zebra danios and Glofish share an identical genome with the exception of the single fluorescing gene.

Fluorescing fish are the first and might very possibly go down in history as the only genetically modified animals to be commercially sold as pets, at least in the immediately foreseeable future. In a day and age when pigs, rabbits, and even household pets such as dogs and cats florescence, perhaps keeping the genetic genie tightly sealed in its bottle is wise. Fifty years from now, however, not having a dog or a cat that literally glows in the dark might be considered extremely old fashion or possibly even irresponsible pet ownership. I’ll leave that up to the future to decide. As for me, it’s time to call this a wrap. I have to feed my Glofish.

You never want to mix Glofish or any other smaller variety species with larger fish. A nano fish tank or wall mounted aquarium is more than enough room to house an entire family together. If you found this article informative, uncover more fun filled facts about your favorite freshwater aquarium fish at the Online fish guide.

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