Mr. Green Genes and Other Glowing Animals
Green Cat Joins Transgenic Mice, Pigs, Monkeys and Red Cats with GFP
Oct 30, 2008
The Audubon Center for Research of Endangered Species in New Orleans has inserted green fluorescent protein (GFP) into a cat, making his eyes, gums and tongue glow green in the dark. Scientist hope GFP will serve as a marker for other transplanted genes designed to preserve endangered species and treat human diseases.
The successful glowing of Mr. Green Genes was announced in October 2008. A few days later, the cat and Betsy Dresser, director of the Audubon research center, were featured in a 90-second section of the NBC Today Show. That made him not only the first glowing cat cloned in the United States, but also the best known transgenic cat in the country.
Mr. Green Genes represents the latest stride in the growing use of fluorescent protein for scientific research. The importance of the protein, which is found in jellyfish, was emphasized in 2008 when the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to three scientists who discovered and developed the protein into a major scientific tool. The award went to:
Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2008 Winners
- Professor Osamu Shimomura, who is credited with discovering the protein in jellyfish. He is with the Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole, Massachusetts.
- Dr. Martin Chalfie of Columbia University, who came up with the idea of using GFP in species other than the jellyfish.
- Roger Y. Tsien of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at the University of California in San Diego. He was cited for showing how GFP fluoresced and for creating mutants which expanded the range of GFP tag colors.
In December 2007, South Korean scientists at Gyeongsang National University reported they produced three Turkish Angora cats that glow under ultraviolet light.
Transgenic Swine
Dr. Randy Prather, a professor of reproductive biotechnology at the University of Missouri, has used fluorescent proteins to show that foreign genes can be used in transgenic swine
GFP has also been used in numerous scientific experiments with mice and monkeys. The protein can make mice glow like jellyfish,
The placement of the glowing gene in animals is not an end in itself because its only function is to serve as a marker, or visual tag, for other genes moving through the body. It allows scientists to attach the GFP to disease-related genes and then to follow the movement of the linked gene. If the animal glows, they know that the linked gene is active.
Scientists hope to attach GFP to genes that can help in the battle against diseases.
Gene Therapy for Cystic Fibrosis
The Audubon center plans to use the protein gene to develop a gene therapy for cystic fibrosis. Their second step is to determine whether Mr. Green Genes can pass the fluorescent gene on to his offspring, thereby creating more transgenic cats for cystic fibrosis research.
Other scientists have engineered monkeys to carry the Huntington's Disease gene and tagged it with GFP to help in their pursuit of a Huntington cure.
Dr. Martha Gomez, the veterinarian who headed the Audubon research team, said a cat was chosen for the New Orleans experiment because the genetic makeup in cats is similar to that of humans. She added that the GFP gene does not hurt the cat.
The use of a cat has generated some criticism on the Internet. One anonymous blog respondent referred to the procedure as "bizarre" and asked "how can we do this to nature?"
Thanks to jellyfish and the GFP they have contributed, it is getting much easier to do.
References:
- Audubon Center for Research of Endangered Species, Audubon Institute.org, Oct. 28, 2008
- "See Spot Glow," by John Pope, TheTimes-Picayune, Oct. 20, 2008
- "Biotech's Glowing Breakthrough Wins Nobel Prize," by Matthew Herper, Forbes.com, Oct. 8, 2008
- "Scientists make cat that glows in the dark," by Richard Alleyne, Telegraph.com, Oct. 23, 2008
- Audubon Center for Research of Endangered Species, Oct. 28, 2008
- "The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2008," Nobel Prize.org, Oct. 8, 2008
- "Audubon Cat Shines on The Today Show," The Times-Picayune, Oct. 24, 2008
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