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UGA’s Richard
Winn has patented a tiny, genetically engineered fish to help
assess health hazards in the environment. Winn, a toxicologist
in UGA’s Daniel B. Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, worked
for five years to develop the transgenic fish, a guppie-sized
Japanese medaka that carries a gene scientists can use to
gauge the damaging effects of chemical contaminants on the
body.
“Fish are particularly sensitive indicators of contaminants
in water and make ideal models for this type of research,”
says Winn. “Beyond that, fish are finally being recognized
for their comparative value as an animal model in environmental
and biomedical research.”
After exposure of the fish to a chemical, researchers look
for changes in the target gene’s DNA. The research,
supported by the National Institutes of Health, shows remarkably
similar responses in fish when compared to studies in mice
and rats.
“The fish models are showing us that many of the previous
findings with rats were right on track,” says Winn.
Among other studies, Winn and his team are also testing the
effectiveness of chemicals that claim to reduce mutations
or prevent cancer, such as green tea.
“The potential uses for the fish are endless,”
says Winn. “They are smaller, cheaper to keep and maintain,
and we can use lots of them and replicate studies quickly.”
Winn conducts his research in the new $1.3 million Aquatic
Biotechnology and Environmental Laboratory completed in August
2001 and funded by the Georgia Research Alliance.
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UGA
researcher Richard Winn with his research subjects, the guppie-sized
Japanese medaka.
