Scientists Are Growing Disease-Free Catfish With Alligator DNA

See ya later, alligator... inside a catfish.

Scientists at Auburn University have grown mutant catfish with disease-resistant abilities drawn directly from alligator DNA. The genetically-modified fish contain cathelicidin, a protein in the intestines that’s said to protect gators from being infected by wounds incurred after fighting with other alligators.

In a newly-published paper, Rex Dunham, Baofeng Su, and their teammates outline the use of CRISPR editing to make catfish more immune to diseases. The researchers disclaim that the merits of CRISPR, often used to cherry-pick the best in mammals—are still unsubstantiated in fish. The study hasn’t been peer-reviewed.

Why catfish, you ask? Well, the whiskered creatures account for more than half of the demand for farm-raised fish in the US, Insider points out.

Unfortunately, farm-raised catfish are disease-prone as they’re harvested in very confined spaces. As a result, about 45% of catfish fingerlings die from infection in these cramped environments. Over time, fish have also become more immune to antibiotic treatments.

The Auburn researchers are looking to make catfish more accessible to diets. Their genetically-edited version, in fact, has a survival rate of between “two- and five-fold higher” than wild catfish, the team recently told MIT Technology Review.

The geneticists also made sure to add the cathelicidin protein to a reproductive hormone, which reduced the catfish’s ability to procreate. Apparently, that’s a good thing, because they don’t want to risk the transgenic fish escaping to the wild and contaminating—or even wiping out—native species.

Although the scientists are pitching this variant for human consumption, it remains to be seen if people would be willing to be catfished into eating gene-edited, alligator-infused seafood.

[via Insider, AL.com, MIT Technology Review, cover photo 12913292 © Elf0724 | Dreamstime.com]