You may have heard a lot about genetically-engineered crops. But scientists are also experimenting with the genetic makeup of animals for instance, they think genetically-altered fish could go a long way toward increasing the world’s food supply. The fish mature twice as fast, and grow bigger, overall, than non-modified fish. But as the Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Wendy Nelson reports, there could be a catch:
Transcript
You may have heard a lot about genetically engineered crops. But scientists
are also experimenting with the genetic makeup of animals.
For instance, they think genetically altered fish could go a long way toward
increasing the world’s food supply.
The fish mature twice as fast, and grow bigger, overall, than non-modified
fish.
But as the Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Wendy Nelson reports, there could
be a catch:
Scientists make these super fish by inserting a growth hormone.
But one researcher says, bigger isn’t necessarily better.
Bill Muir is an animal scientist at Purdue University.
He found the offspring of the genetically altered fish had lower survival
rates. And he says that could spell trouble if the fish get loose in the
wild.
“It’s much like we’re seeing with the gypsy moth or any other things –
is introduced species have all sorts of ramifications that in
hindsight, they were terrible.”
Using data from laboratory tests and computer models, Muir found that a
single genetically-altered fish could breed its way into a wild population.
and lead to its extinction within thirty-seven generations.
Muir’s research was funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The goal
was to assess the environmental risks of genetically altered fish.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Wendy Nelson.