Zebrafish and GFP

Green fluorescent protein (GFP) is a naturally accruing protein in the bioluminescent jellyfish, Aequorea victoria. In recent years GFP has become somewhat of a celebrity within the world of genetic engineering and biological research for it has been extracted from this jellyfish and engineered into the cells of other animals. High profile images of 'glowing' rabbits, pigs and mice, bring the fluorescent reality of GFP into the headlines and overshadow the subtleties at work. At first glance, this Zebrafish appears unremarkable; it is only the vial of concentrated GFP that is displayed next to it that hints at the wonders of the fish's genetic make-up. One cannot see the fluorescence of this fish is because it is designed to be view under a microscope, thus the levels of fluorescence are not required to be visible with the naked eye. The reason this fish has been engineered to express GFP is so that the growth and development of embryo cells can be made visible, under ultraviolet light, to biologists. This allows the development of an understanding of how cells form, divide and mutate, bringing us closer to an understanding foetal deformities and genetic anomalies.