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Gene Knowledge Helps in Search for Larger Trout
By Sharon
Durham
January 13, 2006 New genes that may regulate growth
in rainbow trout to provide larger fish to a growing sector of the food
industry have been discovered by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists.
Molecular biologists
Scott
Gahr and
Caird
Rexroad III of the ARS
National
Center for Cool and Cold Water Aquaculture in Leetown, W.Va., are comparing
genes known to be responsible for growth and development in mammals with
similar genes in rainbow trout.
Gahr and Rexroad identified four new rainbow trout genes called Inhibitor
of DNA Binding/Differentiation (ID) genes, and further characterized two
previously identified genes. The ID genes are involved with muscle
growth and development. Knowing more about how these and other associated genes
function could allow scientists to breed fish with more muscle--meaning more
edible flesh for consumers.
The researchers developed and conducted tests for each of the rainbow trout
ID genes to learn more about the specific roles they play in trout
growth and development.
ID gene sequences have been entered into
GenBank, the
National Institutes of Health's genetic
sequence database, and expression patterns of the genes in different tissues
and times during embryonic development were published in May 2005. To
facilitate progress in this research area, information on genes must be made
available to any scientist interested in doing work that will help the rainbow
trout industry, according to the researchers.
Read
more about the research in the January 2006 issue of Agricultural
Research magazine.
ARS is the U.S. Department of
Agriculture's chief scientific research agency.