NEXT NATURE 39
fluorescent fish by Glofish
And who made our fish transgenic? The artist Eduardo Kac commissioned the first transgenic pet, Alba, a rabbit that supposedly glowed green under blue light. The same tech nology is now available in GloFish, descendants of zebrafish implanted with Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP). The GFP gene was originally isolated from jellyfish, although certain colors are also derived from coral. GloFish are billed as fun accessories for classrooms and blacklight enthusiasts, but they are not without controversy. Due to concerns about genetically modified animals, GloFish are banned in the European Union. While the fish are happy to reproduce, the GloFish license prohibits the copyrighted critters from doing what comes naturally. |AG