Scientists have found a way of modifying catfish with alligator DNA.
Last month scientists in Alabama, USA, made a major breakthrough in genetically modifying a catfish by adding the genes of an alligator.
Why, you ask?
The scientists at Auburn University say that the alligator gene — called cathelicidin — could be beneficial to humans.
Found in the intestines, cathelicidin is an antimicrobial peptide responsible for helping organisms fight diseases.
The scientists said the gene was added to the catfish after finding out that the fish were more resistant to diseases.
Afterwards, they found that the new gator-catfish were even more resistant to diseases than wild ones.
In an interview with MIT Technology Review, researchers said the survival rates of the catfish were “two to five-fold higher”.
Researchers hope that the alligator and catfish gene-editing can be used in tandem with other catfish breeding techniques to help farmers with their catfish yields. Catfish makes up over 50% of the demand for farm-raised fish in the US.
The process of farming them is resource-intensive, with diseases spreading among catfish due to a lack of space on the farms where they are raised.
Some consumers may be uncomfortable with the idea of their catfish sharing DNA with an alligator.
However, Rex Dunham and Baofeng Su, two of the lead researchers of the study, told MTR that the hybrid meat would be perfectly safe.
“I would eat it in a heartbeat,” Dunham said.
Compiled by Mashudu Mabila
Pictured above: A crocodile consuming a catfish
Image source: Crocodile
