Hi
Very interesting thread.
For everyone's info Glofish don't glow in the dark just under actinic lights, and look fluro under normal lights the "glo" gene was taken from a carallimorph (Ricordea) and placed within the DNA chain of a freshly laid zebra danio egg, so if your going to have a go at making some you could need some fancy epuipment.(Put me down for some) When you breed them you can't get different colours than what you started with and only one "glo" gene is needed to reproduce the "glo" factor in the fry. And studies have shown that when placed with normal zebra danios and left to breed they don't find the "glo" danios desirable and mate among themselves eventualy the "glo" gene is bred out and all will be normal colour, so I don't see what anyones problem is. When you eat chicken or lamb are you concerned that you have ingested somthing that has been line bred and manipulated to expess certain features ie.. dumb, taste, a nice wool coat we can remove and use for our own use or chicken to have big meatty breasts and raised in small cages so we have ease collecting there eggs? If it is acceptable to line breed or breed for certain characteristics why is it different ? No difference to owning a Bullmastif (bred from a brithish bulldog and an English Mastif) or Rag Doll cat (just thought I'd throw that in)my point is -it is not natural - nothing really is.
Scientists are genetically altering many animals (and plants) for human benefit like the glo rabit ("glo"gene marker to trace a certain gene for skin regeneration) or what about pig heart valves being transplanted into human chests? Is it any different?
The Cherry shrimp is not native to Australia but it is kept, sold in LFS and has been labeled as indigenous, how can that be? But we can't have "Glofish". And those who say cherry shrimp can't survive in the wild really need to think again as I've got them surviving well in my pond (in the pond - frogs, dragon fly larvea and other naturally ocuring critters no fish just gambesies) out the back and the winter temp is 10C so don't you think that is a bit of a joke.
Just some food for thought
Cheryl
Selective breeding isn't genetic modification, and granted that YES... it is a deviation from nature it's hardly a practice widely looked down upon. I barely see the relevance of debating the impacts of selecting, breeding and maintaining crops or livestock to increase yield of any comparative relevance to injecting a gene from a totally different species in order to increase it's aesthetic appeal.
Cherry Shrimp. I've never seen them labeled or referred to as "indigenous"