The First Gene-Altered Squid Has Thrilled Biologists

July 30, 2020btollesonRSS Sample

On the left is an unmodified hatchling of a longfin inshore squid (Doryteuthis pealeii). The one on the right was injected with CRISPR-Cas9 targeting a pigmentation gene before the first cell division. It has very few pigmented cells and lighter eyes.

Scientists have modified the genes of a squid, and genetically-altered octopuses could be coming soon.

(Image credit: Karen Crawford)