Catfish illustration (Photo: Pixabay)
Author: Rashif Usman, Editor: Dera – Saturday, 11 February 2023 | 16:00 WIB
Sariagri – Geneticists have created fish lele hybrid who hold disease using crocodile DNA. A group of scientists at Auburn University published a paper in January detailing their attempts to modify catfish genetically with the cathelicidin gene from crocodiles.
Cathelicidin which can be found in the intestine is an antimicrobial peptide which is responsible for helping organisms fight disease, quoted from Business Insider.
Meanwhile, the gene embedded in the catfish is passing technology CRISPR is able to increase fish resistance to disease, compared to catfish that live in the wild.
Scientists say that the survival rate of these hybrid catfish is two to five times higher than that of ordinary catfish.
In addition, they also added cathelicidin to the reproductive hormone gene, thereby reducing the ability of the catfish to reproduce. According to the researchers, this is important to prevent genetic contamination of hybrid fish with wild catfish.
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Researchers hope that embedding the alligator gene into catfish can be of great benefit cultivation catfish. With the alligator gene, catfish are more resistant to various forms of disease so that the results are getting more and more.
In the process of cultivating catfish, disease usually spreads between fish due to lack of space farm where they grew up. About 45 percent of catfish die from infectious diseases. In general, fish also become less resistant to antibiotics.
