Glowing Cats

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We’ve all heard of genetically modified organisms. When most of us think of GMOs we think of plants and strains of crops resistant to pests and disease. However, genetic modification is not limited to plants. Scientists have studied the expression of genes in sheep, cats, and pigs, cloning and modifying their DNA to produce different effects.

In South Korea, kittens were altered genetically. As eggs, these cats had jellyfish genes inserted into their genome.

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The genes allowed the cats’ skin cells to produce proteins that glow under ultraviolet light. So why would researchers do this? Inserting these genes into cats allowed scientists to determine whether it was actually possible for organisms to express genes not normally found in their bodies. However, the fluorescent gene was used as a marker and was inserted into the cats along with DNA that had other functions.

The main reason scientists produced these cats was to study diseases. There are many illnesses that are genetic. More insight on how genes work can be provided through the cats.

Feline Immunodeficiency Virus and Genetic Engineering

Scientists hoped to study FIV, or feline immunodeficiency virus, the equivalent of HIV in cats. By experimenting on cats, scientists could find a cure for FIV. Since the diseases are so similar the cure could be directly translated into human medicine.

I would love to have a glowing cat.

According to BBC News Science & Environment, cats don’t have resistance to FIV since their bodies don’t make the necessary proteins to fight it. However, rhesus macaques are immune to the disease. The genes that code for these proteins and fluorescence protein genes from jellyfish were inserted. The cats that displayed the glowing gene under a black light were known to have successfully taken in the gene for FIV resistance.

In Korea, the gene was inserted into the cats using a technique that involved cloning, according to CNN International News. Eggs from a female cat were removed, modified with the new genes, and then implanted back into the same cat. The cats created were glowing clones.

Glowing cats!
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DNA was isolated from jellyfish cells and inserted into the cat genome. DNA was fused with cat DNA using viruses. Viruses inject their DNA into host cells and force the cells to create more proteins based on the DNA, usually these are viral proteins. This process can also be carried out without cloning the cats.

Scientists can also perform gene insertions in bacteria by replacing strands of DNA in a plasmid, a small ring of DNA separate from the main genes that allow bacteria to carry out functions not vital to life. The ring of DNA is then forced back in to the bacteria, often with a bacteriophage, or a virus that affects bacteria. This can also be performed with restriction enzymes and DNA ligase.

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Anyone who has taken a biology class has some experience with this. In one of my lab classes we isolated DNA from food products to see if the item contained modified genes.

Gene Therapy

Gene therapy is the future of medicine. The study of genes could help millions of people suffering from HIV and other genetic diseases, saving lives.

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According to the United States National Library of Medicine gene therapy, although experimental, may be able to help people with various kinds of diseases. DNA beneficial to the battle against certain illnesses can be inserted into patients. Mutated genes can be turned off or replaced with functioning genes. Doing so could help treat "inherited disorders, some types of cancer, and certain viral infections."

Currently there are many countries, including the United Kingdom, Japan, and Australia, where human cloning and human genetic engineering are illegal.

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Many people question the morality of genetically modifying animals. Yet the benefits are potentially much greater than the costs and the cats are not physically harmed. The lives of many people could be saved thanks to genetic engineering and gene therapy. Do you think it’s right to modify life? What about changing people’s DNA to fight disease?

One of the glowing cats created in Korea.

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