Species
Target Modified Traits
Proposed Application

Status of Development

Finfish
Mud Loach Increased growth rates, improved feed conversion and likely sterility after insertion of mud loach growth hormone driven by mud loach ß-actin regulatory region (Nam et al. 2001, Nam et al. 2001a)
Aquaculture for human food
Research
Channel Catfish Enhanced bacterial resistance after insertion of moth peptide antibiotic, cecropin B gene (Dunham et al. 2002)
Aquaculture for human food
Research
Medaka Faciliation of better detection of mutations (presumably caused by environmental pollutant factors) after insertion of a bacteriophage vector (serves as a mutational target). After exposure to mutagenic agent, vector DNA is removed, inserted into indicator bacteria--where mutant genes can be easily measured (Winn et al. 1995, Winn et al. 2000, Winn 2001, Winn 2001a, Winn et al. 2001)
Industrial uses; Environmental uses
Research;
method has been patented
Atlantic salmon Increased growth rate and food conversion efficiency by inserting Chinook salmon growth hormone gene that is switched on year-round, thereby fostering growth to occur year-round, rather than mainly in the summer (Cook et al. 2000, Hew and Fletcher 1996)
Aquaculture for human food
Method has been patented;
FDA is reviewing application for commercial use
Red Sea Bream Increased growth rates after insertion of an "all fish" growth hormone - ocean pout antifreeze protein gene promoter and Chinook salmon growth hormone (Zhang et al. 1998)
Aquaculture for human food
Research
Rainbow Trout Improved carbohydrate metabolism after insertion of human glucose transporter type I and rat hexokinase type II, cloned with viral (CMV) and piscine (sockeye salmon metallothionein-B and histone 3) promoters. Potentially allows giving fish feed that contains plant materials. (Pitkanen et al. 1999)

Aquaculture for human food;
Industrial uses

Research
Trout Increased growth rate and food conversion efficiency via insertion of sockeye salmon growth hormone gene (Devlin et al. 2001)
Aquaculture for human food
Being used as a model for other research
Zebrafish
Production of male-only offspring by injecting into fish eggs an altered gene that prevents the fish's aromatase enzyme from transforming reproductive hormone androgen into estrogen; lack of estrogen prevents development of female fish (Woody 2002)
Biological control of aquatic nuisance species, such as carp

Research;
being used as a model for other research

Carp Improved disease resistance by inserting a human interferon gene (Zhu 2001)

Aquaculture for human food
Research
Goldfish Increased cold tolerance after insertion of ocean pout antifreeze protein gene (Wang et al. 1995)
Aquaculture for human food
Research
Tilapia Increased growth rate and food conversion efficiency after insertion of tilapia growth hormone gene (Martinez et al. 2000)
Aquaculture for human food

Seeking regulatory approval

Tilapia Production of clotting factor after insertion of human gene for clotting factor VII, for medicinal applications (Aquagene 2001)
Pharmaceutical Production
Research
Tilapia Increased growth rate, food conversion efficiency, and utilization of protein after insertion of chinook salmon growth hormone with ocean pout antifreeze promoter (Rahman et al. 2001)
Aquaculture for human food
Research
Mollusks

Potential improved disease resistance and growth acceleration in mollusks by harnessing altered genetic material from a virus to introduce foreign DNA (Burns and Chen 1999).
Aquaculture for human food
Research;
method has been patented
Oysters Improved disease resistance by introduction of retroviral vectors. Researchers are determining most effective method of insertion (Lu et al. 1996, Burns and Friedman 2002)
Aquaculture for human food
Research
Marine Plants

Seaweed

Enhanced production of carrageenan or agar (both are valuable to the food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries) after introduction of foreign DNA (Cheney and Duke 1995)
Industrial uses
Research;
method has been patented
Algae (Spirulina) Potential improved nutritional and medicinal value of commonly consumed Spirulina. Method to achieve such trait changes recently confirmed via successful integration and expression of a genetically engineered marker gene (Zhang et al. 2001)
Aquaculture for human food
Research
Algae Enhanced ability to bind heavy metals after successful expression of a foreign class-II metallothionein (chicken MT-II cDNA) (Cai et al. 1999)
Bioremedial application
Research
Marine Microorganisms

Diatoms

Reduced dependence on light for growth after insertion of human gene for biochemical involved in metabolism of sugar (Zaxlavskaia et al. 2001)
Industrial uses
Research
Crustaceans
Crayfish Production of transgenic offspring (in crayfish and live-bearing fish) after injection, in parents' gonads, of replication-defective pantropic retroviral vector. Successful transgenic individuals expressed neomycin phosphotransferase gene (neoR) (Sarmasik et al. 2001)
Aquaculture for human food

Research;
being used as a model for other research

Kuruma Prawns

Potential improved growth rate through gene insertion. Researchers are currently inserting marker genes to confirm most appropriate GE method (Preston et al. 2000)
Aquaculture for human food
Research

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last modified March 17, 2003.  For questions and comments related to this web page please contact ISEES@umn.edu.
© 1996-2003 Institute for Social, Economic, and Ecological Sustainability, University of Minnesota. The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity educator and employer.

 

 

 

Readers may create copies of individual issues of Marine Biotechnology Briefs, provided the copies reproduce the issue in its entirety, the copies are for noncommercial personal uses, and the source is clearly credited. Except as provided by law, this material may not be further reproduced, distributed, transmitted, modified, adapted, performed, displayed, published, or sold in whole or in part, without prior written permission from the publisher.