GloFish - A Genetically Modified Fish

GloFish - A Genetically Modified Fish

Glofish is a genetically engineered fluorescent fish. A gene that encodes for the green fluorescent Protein (GFP) was extracted from a Jellyfish that naturally produced bright green fluorescence, and inserted into the embryo of Zebrafish. It was then allowed to integrate into the genome of the Zebrafish. this caused the fish to be brightly fluorescent under both natural white light and ultraviolet light.

Originally the goal was to develop a fish that could detect pollution by selectively fluorescing in the presence of environmental toxins. Alternations in the Zebrafish gene have given the organism the ability to fluoresce as a bio indicator. This genetic ability has been used to detect pollution and other chemicals. In addition to this the glow fish are now publicly available as pets. The Zebrafish was the first GloFish to be made publicly available. It was also one of the first genetically modified animals to be allowed to be kept as pets. The GloFish are presently available in bright red, green, orange, yellow, blue, pink and purple fluorescent colors and include many more species of fishes than just the Zebrafish.