Electric eels can perform gene transfer in living organisms with the current they discharge

Scientists have discovered that electric eels can discharge enough current to cause the transfer of different genes into small fish larvae.

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Electric eels can perform gene transfer in living organisms with the current they discharge

According to Nagoya University in Japan, research led by Professor Eiichi Hondo has revealed that the electricity produced by eels can cause genetic material to be transferred into the cells of living organisms.

The research was conducted in a laboratory by adding green fluorescent protein (GFP), which carries DNA, to an environment containing zebrafish larvae and an electric eel.

After the eel discharged electricity, GFP-positive cells were found in approximately 5 percent of the larvae examined under a microscope.

In this way, it was observed that "electroporation," which refers to the application of electricity to increase the permeability of the cell membrane in a laboratory setting to allow foreign DNA to be inserted into the cell, occurs naturally in the wild.

Researcher Atsuo Iida stated regarding the result of the experiment, "This shows that the electrical discharge from the electric eel can cause gene transfer into cells."

The results of the research were published in the journal "PeerJ".

News Source: AA