February 22, 2007

Indian university succeeds in cloning prawns with high growth rates

A discovery in the field of genetic engineering at India's Calicut University Zoology department is expected to have a sizable impact on the country's shrimp industry, local media said.

The 3-year research project in cloning has successfully isolated two growth regulating genes in the giant fresh water prawns (macro brachium rosenbergii) at the university laboratory.

Now the clone would undergo further procedures of genetic engineering before being introduced in prawns, principal investigator K V Lazar said.

The project aims to generate giant prawns of a different nature from the usual fresh water prawns, combining the technologies in genetic engineering and cloning.

The growth regulating genes in the prawns could be replaced through cloning, leading to a new variety of prawns with extra-ordinary growth rate, Lazar said.

With another one-and-a-half years left until the completion of the project, Lazar expects prompt introduction of the clone in prawns.