In 1997 Tokyo scientists at
Osaka University added
jellyfish genes to
mice, causing the cells of the mice to
glow under
fluorescent light.
The mice are created using a process called
zygote microinjection. In this process, the scientists took a protein from a species of
fluorescent jellyfish called
Aequorea Victoria. Then they modified the gene to make its glowing properties twice as powerful. This gene, called EGFG (
enhanced green fluorescent gene) was then inserted into a fertilized mouse egg cell. As the cell divided, the
green gene also replicated and made its way into every cell of the mouse.
This
genetic trait will be passed on to the majority of their offspring. The vibrant hues of the young mice will soon disappear when hair grows over their bodies, but their feet and mouths continue to
glow well into
adulthood.
Professor
Masaru Okabe and his team started the project in 1993 in an effort to develop new methods to observe the internal development of fetuses.
The ability to detect the presence of a gene, without having to remove tissue for
biopsy or destroy the test subject for
autopsy, allows researchers to decrease the number of test animals required for a study and to gather the results of the study more quickly.
Scientists also hope to be able to use light emitting genes to detect the path a virus takes when spreading through an
organism, and indicate which parts of the organism are most effected.
The same processes was used by
French scientists to produce
a glowing rabbit (named Alba). The
albino rabbit glows green when placed under special lighting.
Scientists at
Standford University in the U.S. have created their own glowing mice using genes from
fireflies. In fireflies, the enzyme
luciferase reacts with a chemical called
luciferin to generate light.
The U.S. scientists introduced the
luciferase gene into the lungs of their mice. After activating the
luciferase genes by injecting
luciferin into the mice, the researchers were able to detect, from outside of the animal, light coming from the lungs.