Are scientists playing God with Frankentrout?

Consumers want bigger fish, so researchers at the USDA's Agricultural Research Service have figured out a way to breed trout that are bigger and considered more attractive than the regular variety.

The modified fish are bigger because they have three sets of chromosomes, rather than two sets, as is normal. Rainbow trout with the extra chromosomes--the long strands of DNA that determine genetic makeup--grow faster because they are unable to reproduce. The energy from the food they eat is shifted from reproduction to growth, said William Hershberger at the agency's Center for Cool and Cold Water Aquaculture.

Credit: Ken Hammond, USDA

A rainbow trout.

Additionally, the flesh of these modified fish, which are called triploids, doesn't become soft with age, and their skin doesn't become dark--common traits in normal fish. The trout's prominent hook nose doesn't develop so rapidly either. While these characteristics aren't problems for the trout, consumers tend to shy away from ugly fish, Hershberger said. Ugly, unsold fish, of course, means wasted food and lower profits.

Under a strategy used by some fish hatcheries, embryos are exposed to heat or pressure about 20 minutes after fertilization to add the third set of chromosomes.

But under the technique created at the Agricultural Research Service, scientists apply heat or shock to actually add two extra sets of chromosomes, creating a tetraploid. When they grow, the four-chromosome-set fish breed with normal fish and give birth to a three-chromosome-set generation. The addition of the two extra chromosome sets can occur up to five hours after fertilization.

A three-chromosome-set trout grown in a hatchery will weigh 10 to 12 pounds after two years, he said, while a normal, two-chromosome-set fish from a hatchery will weigh 8 to 10 pounds. In the wild, a trout might make it to 5 pounds.

The technique promises a couple of advantages. One, all of the fish bred in the new generation will have three sets of chromosomes. Only about 70 percent of the fish created using the earlier technique ended up with three sets. The fish produced from the breeding of tetraploids with diploids also grow faster.

Genetic engineering remains highly controversial. Opponents say it creates hazards for the ecosystem and that tomatoes and other genetically modified foods don't taste nearly as good as natural ones. Proponents assert that genetic modification, in the form of selective breeding, has been around since the dawn of agriculture at the end of the last ice age. Genetic modification also curbs pesticide consumption and increases yields.

Hershberger added that trout with three sets of chromosomes do not present a danger to the ecosystem if they get out of the lab because they are sterile. Thus, they can't breed with wild stocks.

However, the lab and breeders will have to take careful measures to make sure none of the four-chromosome-set fish get out.

"The tetraploids would breed with the duploids and create sterile triploids," he said.

[Tui Pohutukawa]

Please apply logic.

"genetic modification, in the form of selective breeding, has
been around since the dawn of agriculture"
No. Never before have genes from totally unrelated species (i.
fish and tomato) been forced to recombine, or embryos been
exposed to heat or pressure about 20 minutes after fertilization.
Not by God, not by nature.

"Genetic modification also curbs pesticide consumption and
increases yields."
Organic farming methods reduce pesticide usage to zero, and
healthy soils increase yields.

Genetic modification = short term gains to corporate coffers,
long term damage to man and his environment.

[Tui Pohutukawa]

Please apply logic.

"genetic modification, in the form of selective breeding, has
been around since the dawn of agriculture"
No. Never before have genes from totally unrelated species (i.
fish and tomato) been forced to recombine, or embryos been
exposed to heat or pressure about 20 minutes after fertilization.
Not by God, not by nature.

"Genetic modification also curbs pesticide consumption and
increases yields."
Organic farming methods reduce pesticide usage to zero, and
healthy soils increase yields.

Genetic modification = short term gains to corporate coffers,
long term damage to man and his environment.

[albatros246]

WTF?!? This is going too far.

Seriously, there is got to be line to draw in here.
What's next, chicken with no heads?

I am glad Europe has been opossing GM foods in a while. I hope they never allow that trash to come in.
I live in the US, and fresh food in here is terrible. Waxed, GM'ed, with no taste. And organic food is considered luxury, so it cost$ too much.
Even my country, Albania has much better access to fresher and healthier food.

[albatros246]

WTF?!? This is going too far.

Seriously, there is got to be line to draw in here.
What's next, chicken with no heads?

I am glad Europe has been opossing GM foods in a while. I hope they never allow that trash to come in.
I live in the US, and fresh food in here is terrible. Waxed, GM'ed, with no taste. And organic food is considered luxury, so it cost$ too much.
Even my country, Albania has much better access to fresher and healthier food.

[btcarnovale]

"Trout is Trout"

What is the fuss about? Nobody is introducing new genes into trout. All of the genes involved started out in a trout and end up in a trout.

Also, if by some mischance a few of the modified trout escape there will not be any effect on the wild populations. Triploids are sterile so all they do in the wild is compete for food and if a tetraploid escapes, it might mate, but all of its offspring will be triploids which (again) are sterile.

Muddle me slaps you with big fish.

Pond raised trout are a colorless, tasteless, soggy, (ie: not firm in texture) waste of money.
Big waste of time and effort as nobody is going to purchase a genetically modified fish that is larger with the same characteristics.
If you like to eat trout you'll go fishing and will never ever get that experience or taste from your local grocery store.

[btcarnovale]

"Trout is Trout"

What is the fuss about? Nobody is introducing new genes into trout. All of the genes involved started out in a trout and end up in a trout.

Also, if by some mischance a few of the modified trout escape there will not be any effect on the wild populations. Triploids are sterile so all they do in the wild is compete for food and if a tetraploid escapes, it might mate, but all of its offspring will be triploids which (again) are sterile.

Muddle me slaps you with big fish.

Pond raised trout are a colorless, tasteless, soggy, (ie: not firm in texture) waste of money.
Big waste of time and effort as nobody is going to purchase a genetically modified fish that is larger with the same characteristics.
If you like to eat trout you'll go fishing and will never ever get that experience or taste from your local grocery store.

[Okie Rick]

Trout, Engineered Trout then No Trout

"Also, if by some mischance a few of the modified trout escape there will not be any effect on the wild populations. Triploids are sterile so all they do in the wild is compete for food and if a tetraploid escapes, it might mate, but all of its offspring will be triploids which (again) are sterile."


Our children's children's children will wake up to a harmless little engineered food productivity experiment gone bad. Beautiful trout living in the streams and lakes for thousands of years are introduced to a few hundred, thousand or hundred thousand sterile trout. Trying to breed the real trout mate with sterile trout. Again and again. The result...no trout eggs, hatchlings and soon no trout.

Buy hey, we're better looking than those real guys...till we become extinct.

[David Arbogast]

Previous Experience Disproves Theory

The scenario you describe sounds logical but has been shown to be largely false. Hybrid bluegill have been released into bodies of water all over the country and their inability to breed has not caused any dramatic effect upon the wild bluegill population.

[Okie Rick]

Trout, Engineered Trout then No Trout

"Also, if by some mischance a few of the modified trout escape there will not be any effect on the wild populations. Triploids are sterile so all they do in the wild is compete for food and if a tetraploid escapes, it might mate, but all of its offspring will be triploids which (again) are sterile."


Our children's children's children will wake up to a harmless little engineered food productivity experiment gone bad. Beautiful trout living in the streams and lakes for thousands of years are introduced to a few hundred, thousand or hundred thousand sterile trout. Trying to breed the real trout mate with sterile trout. Again and again. The result...no trout eggs, hatchlings and soon no trout.

Buy hey, we're better looking than those real guys...till we become extinct.

[David Arbogast]

Previous Experience Disproves Theory

The scenario you describe sounds logical but has been shown to be largely false. Hybrid bluegill have been released into bodies of water all over the country and their inability to breed has not caused any dramatic effect upon the wild bluegill population.

[davidwfox]

Are these people insane?

Do we REALLY know enough to risk contaminating - forever - the process of evolution? Fortunately when the last generation got it wrong with CFCs, the problem was found in time to prevent the destruction of the ozone layer. But this? What happens when these fish get out into the wild mingle and replicate? Whats that saying..."If you don't learn from the mistakes of the past, you are doomed to repeat them"/ These "scientists" need to learn - fast!

[davidwfox]

Are these people insane?

Do we REALLY know enough to risk contaminating - forever - the process of evolution? Fortunately when the last generation got it wrong with CFCs, the problem was found in time to prevent the destruction of the ozone layer. But this? What happens when these fish get out into the wild mingle and replicate? Whats that saying..."If you don't learn from the mistakes of the past, you are doomed to repeat them"/ These "scientists" need to learn - fast!

leave the damn trout alone!

What did the trout ever do to us?!@

leave the damn trout alone!

What did the trout ever do to us?!@

[avi_nash]

people don't like to buy ugly fish?????

Why should the fish look beautiful if your are just going to cut it and eat it. At the end it is the taste of the fish that should matter and not the way it looks.

[avi_nash]

people don't like to buy ugly fish?????

Why should the fish look beautiful if your are just going to cut it and eat it. At the end it is the taste of the fish that should matter and not the way it looks.

Wild trout are not ugly.

Having done a good deal of trout fishing in the U.S. I conclude it is the prettiest fish in North America. Wild trout are usually smaller, more colorful and tastier than their farm raised counterparts.
If you grew up in a murky pond and were fed a diet of what looks and tastes like compressed dog food pellets, you'd be dark and ugly to.
The trout you see in every grocery store are nasty. I tried one once and will never purchase another. If you've not got enough energy to grab rod and reel and go fishing for fresh trout the experience of eating them should be skipped.
Another big problem is most trout nowdays are stocked into streams from those murky ponds usually around two weeks before the fishing season opens. This renders most of them just as nasty as those purchased at the grocery.
Bottom line is you can't purchase a good trout and you really have to get off the beaten path to catch one.

Wild trout are not ugly.

Having done a good deal of trout fishing in the U.S. I conclude it is the prettiest fish in North America. Wild trout are usually smaller, more colorful and tastier than their farm raised counterparts.
If you grew up in a murky pond and were fed a diet of what looks and tastes like compressed dog food pellets, you'd be dark and ugly to.
The trout you see in every grocery store are nasty. I tried one once and will never purchase another. If you've not got enough energy to grab rod and reel and go fishing for fresh trout the experience of eating them should be skipped.
Another big problem is most trout nowdays are stocked into streams from those murky ponds usually around two weeks before the fishing season opens. This renders most of them just as nasty as those purchased at the grocery.
Bottom line is you can't purchase a good trout and you really have to get off the beaten path to catch one.

Picture of Rainbow Trout

Thought I might mention that a wild Rainbow trout has a red tinge down the side of it's body.
The trout pictured in this article is either pond raised or a brown trout.
Trout raised in ponds loose all their color and flavor.
http://www.flyfishalberta.com/trout/rainbow.htm

Picture of Rainbow Trout

Thought I might mention that a wild Rainbow trout has a red tinge down the side of it's body.
The trout pictured in this article is either pond raised or a brown trout.
Trout raised in ponds loose all their color and flavor.
http://www.flyfishalberta.com/trout/rainbow.htm

[heystoopid]

Wow, a gorgeous blonde Trout with no taste what next!

Er they tried that with tomatoes, designed to withstand the rigours of harsh handling and long distance transport But since they were picked green, all they ended up with was tasteless objects which made good tennis balls. Little wonder, the commercial synthethic tomato products using this crap are full of wonderful little number taste enhancers and colourisers! At this rate we will soon have these wankers genetically re engineering all the daily fresh food we eat, based on important commercial concepts like double shelf life in the mega corporate chain supermarket etc, never mind the taste or the farmers long term viability cultivating this crap! Oh Well, there goes life on earth as we know it !

[heystoopid]

Wow, a gorgeous blonde Trout with no taste what next!

Er they tried that with tomatoes, designed to withstand the rigours of harsh handling and long distance transport But since they were picked green, all they ended up with was tasteless objects which made good tennis balls. Little wonder, the commercial synthethic tomato products using this crap are full of wonderful little number taste enhancers and colourisers! At this rate we will soon have these wankers genetically re engineering all the daily fresh food we eat, based on important commercial concepts like double shelf life in the mega corporate chain supermarket etc, never mind the taste or the farmers long term viability cultivating this crap! Oh Well, there goes life on earth as we know it !