Fish with six-pack abs could benefit aquaculture
Scientists develop an ultra-muscular trout that can grow more body mass without any increase in food.
Photo: University of Rhode Island
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Fish with six-pack abs could benefit aquacultureScientists develop an ultra-muscular trout that can grow more body mass without any increase in food.By Stephanie RogersFri, Mar 12 2010 at 3:13 PM EST
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Photo: University of Rhode Island The trout are bizarrely muscular, with rippling abdomens that resemble six-pack abs and dorsal humps that give the impression of bulked-up shoulders. But these bodybuilder fish didn’t just develop that way on their own; a University of Rhode Island scientist spent 10 years genetically engineering them for increased muscle mass, according to Science Daily.
It’s all part of a goal to grow larger trout in commercial fisheries without increasing the amount of food they’re given, and professor Terry Bradley believes he’s finally obtained results that could be a huge boost to the aquaculture industry.
Bradley and his research team found a way to inhibit myostatin, a protein that slows muscle growth, to increase the number of muscle fibers in the bodies of rainbow trout.
After injecting 20,000 rainbow trout eggs with DNA designed to inhibit the protein, the team found that 300 of the hatched eggs carried the gene that increases muscle mass. Those fish were spawned, and subsequent offspring have also carried the gene.
"The results have significant implications for commercial aquaculture and provide completely novel information on the mechanisms of fish growth,” Bradley told Science Daily. "The results also allow for comparisons between the mechanisms of growth of muscle in mammals versus fish, and it could shed light on muscle wasting diseases in humans."
But the same muscle mass that could increase yield at fisheries could also help the fish break out and wreak havoc on the environment. U.S. fisheries already have significant problems with escapes, hence the current problems with invasive Asian carp in the Mississippi River Basin and beyond.
Researchers who have studied the effects of escaped transgenic fish recommend breeding them in closed systems on land to prevent such occurances, especially because genetically engineered fish are often able to overtake native species.
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Comments
jackmuller88
10/11/2011 09:08 AM
Hi, that is really amazing. Never hear of it before. I am not too sure about fish but I believe that human like you and I will need to have a nice six pack abs. Lets learn on how to get six pack abs at http://www.aboutsixpackabs.org Jack Muller
V
Today 01:46 AM
ew. Since I don't eat animals, half my battle is over. However, it is almost an inhuman feat to try to avoid GMO products and monsanto.
Ted
03/24/2010 15:53 PM
Based on the scientific results presented here, I'd suggest we are better off handing evolution back to nature where it belongs.
Kate Stewart
03/20/2010 22:06 PM
Ok they have proven it can be done, now before they serve it up to humans, maybe some serious research could be done on the effects of GM food on humans. Save us from ourselves we are our own worst nightmare!
Eva
03/17/2010 23:06 PM
Who in G's name is going to stop these idiots from destroying humanity with Frankenfoods Enough is enough. I don't know how these people sleep a night. I guess with their genetically engineered partners.
Doodad
03/17/2010 08:05 AM
I'm repulsed and concerned about the implications. I've also got suspicions that the picture is not what the article represents and may be a diseased fish.
Morgantheaxe
03/16/2010 12:31 PM
Ok you morons screwed up peaches. You screwed up tomatoes. You screwed up just about EVERYTHING you try and make better. We have grains that aren't safe for human consumption we feed to our livestock because of you morons and now we are gonna have lumpy fat fish!!!! Leave it the hell alone already!!!!
kgis
03/15/2010 19:57 PM
Just look at that poor, deformed and grotesque fish.I am repulsed. Genetically engineering animals is sick and dangerous and should be outlawed. What happens when these engineered animals escape and breed with wild trout? "That will never happen."
Lou
03/15/2010 11:13 AM
I for one welcome our new fish overlords.
Ron
03/13/2010 15:52 PM
The Chicago locks must be slosed ! Add your commentSign in with one of these accounts or just add your comment below. |
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