Safety evaluation of transgenic Tilapia with accelerated growth

Recent advances in modern marine biotechnology have permitted the generatio n of new strains of economically important fish species through the transfe r of growth hormone genes. These transgenic fish strains show improved grow th performance and therefore constitute a better alternative for aquacultur e programs. Recently, we have obtained a transgenic tilapia line with accel erated growth However, before introducing this line into Cuban aquaculture, environmental and food safety assessment was required by national authorit ies. Experiments were performed to evaluate the behavior of transgenic tila pia in comparison to wild tilapia as a way to assess the environmental impa ct of introducing transgenic tilapia into Cuban aquaculture. Studies were a lso conducted to evaluate, according to the principle of substantial equiva lence, the Safety of consuming transgenic tilapia as food. Behavior studies showed that transgenic tilapia had a lower feeding motivation and dominanc e status than controls. Food safety assessment indicated that tilapia growt h hormone has no biological activity when administered to nonhuman primates . Furthermore, no effects were detected in human healthy volunteers after t he consumption of transgenic tilapia. These results showed, at least under the conditions found in Cuba, no environmental implications for the introdu ction of this transgenic tilapia line and the safety in the consumption of tiGH-transgenic tilapia as an alternative feeding source for humans. These results: support the culture and consumption of these transgenic tilapia.