Scientists are using gene editing to create mutant alligator-catfish hybrids that are resistant to infection

SCIENTISTS have developed a gene editing method that creates alligator-catfish hybrids.

The reasoning for doing so lies in the mutant combination's ability to resist infection, according to researchers at Auburn University in Alabama.

Overall, the goal was to "build better catfish," as Americans typically eat a considerable amount of catfish per year, per Outdoor Life.

The researchers explained that in 2021 alone, 256 million pounds of catfish were imported from other countries, and 307 million were produced in the United States.

That's a total of 563 million pounds of catfish consumed.

The catfish grown in the states has caused health concerns, however.

Usually, they're farm-grown in the South in Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Texas.

The fish come from farm ponds, which, as the Auburn University researchers point out, can be "breeding grounds for disease."

They noted that farmers actually lose a very large portion of catfish to infections yearly.

So, they reached for alligator DNA and genetic engineering to help with the process.

Rex Dunham, Baofeng Su, and the rest of the scientist group used what's called CRISPR technology.

It gives them the ability to edit and alter genes in animals and plants.

Their search initially began for a genetic element that could make the catfish "heartier," which ended up leading them to a specific protein that alligators carry.

It's called cathelicidin, and Dunham told The Fish Site that the team believes the protein protects alligators from developing infections when they get injured.

The Auburn University Team then suspected that they may be able to combine this protein with catfish to make them less susceptible to infections as well.

The solution to include it came from a problem that the team worried about if they were to complete the gene modification.

Catfish that had the alligator DNA could escape farm ponds and disrupt nearby ecosystems.

To counteract that, they replaced one of the catfish's reproduction genes with the alligator DNA.

That way, they remain resilient but cannot reproduce.

After some experimentation, survival rates of the hybrid catfish were allegedly “between two- and five-fold higher,” per Dunham.

It's unclear whether or not the hybrid catfish will actually make it to farms across the southern United States as of yet.

There are still ethical concerns surrounding the CRISPR technology, and issues with marketing hybrid catfish alligators to the American public.

Only time will tell, but for now, the Auburn University group's findings on the gene combination process have been published in bioRxiv.

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