Taiwan Today

A public-private team of Taiwan researchers announced the development of the world’s first fluorescent pink ornamental fish Nov. 7. The fish was developed from common angelfish native to the Amazon River with a gene for fluorescent pink protein extracted from Acropora coral by Chen Ming-chyuan of National Kaohsiung Marine University. A group led by Gong Hong-yi of National Taiwan Ocean University microinjected the gene into angelfish eggs, leading to fry giving off a fluorescent pink color. “The success of our gene transfer techniques has progressed to one percent, from the original rate of one out of 10,000,” Gong said. This will help advance commercial production of the fish, he noted. Glowing pink lionhead goldfish have also been created as part of the project by Wu Jen-leih and Chen Jyh-yih of Academia Sinica’s Institute of Cellular and Organismic Biology. Ou Mei-ju, president of Jy Lin Trading Co. Ltd., another participant in the research, said fluorescent fish currently on the market are mainly green or red zebra cichlids that only glow in the dark. “But these fish glow a beautiful pink even in the daytime.” The next step in the research is to evaluate the fish’s biological safety, to confirm its sterility before it is marketed, the team said. Two years of field studies will be necessary to ensure that the genetically modified organism cannot reproduce and thus potentially cause an ecological disaster. The fluorescent pink fish will be featured at the 2012 Taiwan International Aquarium Expo Nov. 9-12 at the Taipei World Trade Center Nangang Exhibition Hall. A foreign buyer has already offered NT$100,000 (US$3,435) for one, according to Ou. The team estimated annual revenues for a new type of fluorescent fish at roughly NT$200 million in the U.S. market alone. (THN)