Is the new glow-in-the-dark kitty a look into the future of human genetic engineering?

Tuesday, September 13. 2011

Is the new glow-in-the-dark kitty a look into the future of human genetic engineering?

Scientists at the Mayo clinic have made a glow-in-the-dark kitty. This is not the first time scientists have made cats glow with the green fluorescent protein (GFP) which was originally isolated from jellyfish. But these kitties are different. They do not just have the GFP gene but also a genetically engineered resistance to the feline version of HIV. The GFP and the resistance were inserted together. The glowing indicates that the kitty was successfully engineered. Scientists hope that these cats will be a model for studying the HIV virus.

I want to go beyond the creation of these glowing cats and their purpose and look at another reason they are special. In the past, transgenic cats and other glow-in-the-dark animals were made by SCNT better known as cloning. The researchers would modify a somatic cell nucleus (somatic is a fancy word for a body cell like skin or muscle cell), insert that nucleus into an empty egg and "Viola!" a transgenic clone was created. But the above cats were made differently. They were made with a tweak on plain old in vitro fertilization or IVF. Researchers modified the egg and then fertilized it with regular sperm. You know, reproduction in the semi-old-fashioned way. This modification was shown not only to be incorporated into the first generation kitty, but for the second generation as well making it a technique that produces germ-line genetic modifications or modifications that can be passed on from generation to generation. This was the first time this technique of modified IVF was successful in carnivores.

Why is this significant? Because it used to be that scientists would talk about the genetic engineering of humans in context of cloning. The idea was to modify the nucleus of a somatic cell like a skin cell and then use that modified nucleus to clone a genetically modified human. In other words, cloning humans would have to be perfected first and then the genetic engineering could proceed after.

But cloning is a very difficult and inefficient process that uses hundreds of eggs which is why the researchers that created these new transgenic kitties did not use it. The modified IVF had a 23% success rate while the cloning was only 3% successful in producing genetically modified cats.

What does this mean? It means that cloning may no longer be considered to be the way in which the genetic engineering of humans will be accomplished. It may only take modifying eggs or sperm before IVF to create a genetically modified human that could pass that modification onto his or her offspring. With IVF being such an accepted and widespread practice, it may not be long before parents are ordering up germ-line genetically modified offspring that will have no choice but to pass their modification on their children and grandchildren.

Well of course such genetic modification of human egg and sperm before IVF to create a germ-line genetic modification is illegal right? It is in many countries like Australia, Belgium, Canada, England, France, India, Japan and Germany where inheritable genetic modifications are prohibited, but not in the United States. In the U.S. we are hesitant to put any restrictions on the IVF industry in fear of infringing on someone's mythical "reproductive rights." It is time to stop tip toeing around IVF and regulate the fertility industry because it maybe that IVF is where such human germ-line genetic enhancements will occur.

Hat Tip: David Prentice at FRC Blog.

Posted by Rebecca Taylor in Genetic Engineering at 08:41 | Comments (4) | Trackbacks (0)

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The fertility industry is completely out of control in this country. It boggles my mind as to why there has not been many attempts to regulate it.

#1 Denise Maria on 2011-09-15 07:41 (Reply)

You are right. But that would require slaughtering the sacred cow of the "reproductive right."

#1.1 Rebecca Taylor on 2011-09-15 16:09 (Reply)

Hmmmm... (I'm just thinking outloud here) If genes are able to be patented due to the manipulation needed to discover them, are "products" of IVF and cloning the property of the individual performing the procedure or holding the patent on the technology?

#2 Matt on 2011-09-15 08:13 (Reply)

There are scientists like Micheal West formerly of Advanced Cell Technologies that think cloned human embryos are patentable. I suspect that once IVF clinics start making modified sperm, eggs and embryo they might want to patent all or some of those as well.

Is the new glow-in-the-dark kitty a look into the future of human genetic engineering?

Mary Meets Dolly

Tuesday, September 13. 2011

Is the new glow-in-the-dark kitty a look into the future of human genetic engineering?

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