Scientists say cathelicidin helps prevent infections from developing in the wounds alligators sustain while fighting with each other. Their work has not yet been peer-reviewed, but the scientists have published a paper describing their findings on the online preprint server bioRxiv.Īlligators have a gene that helps them produce an antimicrobial protein called cathelicidin. “I would eat it in a heartbeat,” says Rex Dunham, an aquaculture scientist at Auburn University who worked on the project, to MIT Technology Review’s Jessica Hamzelou. And, experts say, diners likely wouldn’t notice a difference when chowing down on genetically modified catfish. In the future, this could theoretically help minimize the environmental impact of fish farming, decrease waste and make the process overall less resource intensive. ![]() In initial tests, the addition of alligator genes did seem to make catfish more impervious to infection. Now, researchers say they’ve devised a creative solution to this problem: injecting alligator DNA into farm-raised catfish to make the fish more resistant to disease.Īs Greg Garrison writes for AL.com, this innovation “sounds like the start of a Southern gothic horror thriller.” But the scientists spearheading the initiative insist the public has nothing to be afraid of. ![]() But aquaculture is complicated by infections and diseases, which kill millions of farmed fish year after year. ![]() Americans have a big appetite for catfish: In 2021, fish farms in the United States produced an estimated 307 million pounds of the creatures for human consumption.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |