The GloFish is a genetically-modified zebrafish with a bright red fluorescent color. It is the first genetically modified (GM) animal to be engineered for sale as a pet.
The original zebrafish from which the glofish was developed is a native of rivers in India and Bangladesh. It measures four centimeters long and has black and white stripes.
In 1999, Dr Gong Zhiyuan and his colleagues at the National University of Singapore took a gene from a jellyfish that naturally produced a green fluorescent protein and grafted it on to the zebrafish genome. This caused the fish's organs to glow brightly behind its translucent skin. Shortly thereafter a team of Taiwanese researchers, headed by Professor Huai-Jen Tsai, succeeded in creating a zebrafish with a fluorescent red color by adding genes from a species of coral.
Taikong, the largest aquarium fish producer in Taiwan, saw the commercial possibilities of the brightly-colored zebrafish mutant. Scientists and businessmen met and a deal was signed whereby Taikong financed the research and obtained the rights to market the GloFish, called TK1 in Taiwan, where there is a long tradition in and huge market for aquarium pets. In 2002, Taiwan became the first country to authorize sales of a genetically modified organism as a pet. One hundred thousand fish were sold in less than a month at $18.60 apiece.
The GloFish was introduced to the American market in January, 2004 by Yorktown Technologies of Austin, Texas, claiming that it needs no federal permit to do so. The move was met by protests from environmental groups, who call the GloFish "frankenfish".
On January 14, 2004, the Center for Technology Assessment and Center for Food Safety filed a lawsuit in US Federal District Court to block the sale of the glofish. The lawsuit seeks a court order stating that the transgenic fish are subject to Federal regulation and cannot be sold further without proper approvals. In the opinion of Joseph Mendelson, the Center for Food Safety's legal director:
It's clear this sets a precedent for genetically engineered animals. It opens the dams to a whole host of nonfood genetically engineered organisms. That's unacceptable to us and runs counter to things the National Academy of Sciences and other scientific review boards have said, particularly when it comes to mobile GM organisms like fish and insects. [1]
According to the CFS, recent research also revealed that the GloFish was engineered to contain animal and human viruses and as well as antibiotic resistance genes, all of which it claims can pose human and animal health hazards.
However, the official statement of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (made on the 9th of December 2003) says:
"Because tropical aquarium fish are not used for food purposes, they pose no threat to the food supply. There is no evidence that these genetically engineered zebra danio fish pose any more threat to the environment than their unmodified counterparts which have long been widely sold in the United States. In the absence of a clear risk to the public health, the FDA finds no reason to regulate these particular fish." [1]
In the meantime, another GM zebrafish, called "Night Pearl", is already on sale over the counter in Taiwan and its manufacturers are confident that they will soon be able to export it to Europe and the US. Taikong is also planning to introduce shortly a third-generation zebrafish, half green, half fluorescent red on the market. It plans to sell the fish via the Internet, allowing shoppers to choose customised fish from a range of colors and have them home-delivered.
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