Identified fish genome has the prospects of aiding food security
Photo from Datid
In the near future, global food security could possibly be improved by genetically modified Tilapia. Tilapia, as the third most farmed fish species worldwide, is inexpensive and has become a staple food all over the world. The first full, high-quality genome reference of Tilapia was identified by researchers from the Earlham Institute, the Roslin Institute, and WorldFish. The Genetically Improved Farmed Tilapia (GIFT) programme claims that this breakthrough can help to develop strains that “grow bigger, grow quickly, and have improved resilience to the environmental challenges of a warming planet”.
They also hope that these findings can become a great resource to fish breeders. “We’ve generated a chromosome-level assembly of the GIFT strain characterizing its mixed origins and the potential contributions of introgressed regions to selected traits. This gives breeders the information they need to develop new programmes with confidence,” said study author and Group Leader at the Earlham Institute, Dr. Wilfried Haerty. Furthermore, Dr. John Benzie, Acting Director of Aquatic Foods Biosciences of WorldFish explains, “This collaboration has laid a strong foundation for us to produce new strains of GIFT that are more resilient to a changing climate, reducing production risks for fish farmers and increasing yield to feed nutritious animal protein to a growing global population,”
APA Bibliography
https://www.newfoodmagazine.com/news/189467/fish-genome-has-potential-to-improve-food-security/
https://www.earlham.ac.uk/news/key-tilapia-genome-offers-boost-global-food-security
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/halibut-fish#TOC_TITLE_HDR_8
