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SW: add triploid info
'''AquAdvantage salmon''' is a genetically engineered (GE) salmon produced by [[AquaBounty Technologies]]. AquAdvantage salmon grow to market size in 16 to 18 months instead of the usual 30 required for Atlantic salmon.<ref>Andrew Pollack, [http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/04/health/policy/04salmon.html?_r=1 "Modified Salmon Is Safe, F.D.A. Says"], New York Times, September 3, 2010, Accessed September 7, 2010.</ref> In early September 2010, the [[FDA]] announced findings that the GE salmon is safe to eat. If approved, the fish will be the first genetically engineered animal commercially sold as food in the United States.<ref>Andrew Pollack, [http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/04/health/policy/04salmon.html?_r=1 "Modified Salmon Is Safe, F.D.A. Says"], New York Times, September 3, 2010, Accessed September 7, 2010.</ref> AquAdvantage salmon are identified as "Triploid hemizygous, all-female Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) bearing a single copy of the α-form of the opAFP-GHc2 rDNA construct at the α-locus in the EO-1α lineage."<ref>[http://www.fda.gov/downloads/AdvisoryCommittees/CommitteesMeetingMaterials/VeterinaryMedicineAdvisoryCommittee/UCM224762.pdf Briefing Packet for AquAdvantage Salmon Veterinary Medicine Advisory Committee (PDF - 2506KB)], U.S. FDA, September 20, 2010.</ref> In other words, the salmon will each have three complete sets of chromosomes instead of two, and all of the fish will be females.
== Creation of All-Female Triploid Population ==
The process of creating an all-female triploid population of GE salmon begins with female GE salmon and irradiated sperm of Arctic char, another fish species.<ref>[http://www.fda.gov/downloads/AdvisoryCommittees/CommitteesMeetingMaterials/VeterinaryMedicineAdvisoryCommittee/UCM224762.pdf Briefing Packet for AquAdvantage Salmon Veterinary Medicine Advisory Committee (PDF - 2506KB)], U.S. FDA, September 20, 2010.<ref> The process used to create an all-female population is known as
gynogenesis, which is described as follows: "Briefly, irradiated sperm are introduced to eggs, followed by a pressure treatment to result in diploid “twin” offspring. In this case, ABT uses Arctic char milt that has been irradiated so that no Arctic char DNA is present in the gynogen population. In the event that the milt irradiation was not successful, the offspring would be an Arctic char / Atlantic salmon hybrid. These fish are readily identifiable by their differential markings and phenotypic appearance. As such, these hybrid fish can be easily removed without extensive testing."
The remaining all-female population are subjected to "masculinization" using [[17-methyltestosterone]]. The females become "neomales" (genetically female fish that produce milt (sperm) instead of viable eggs). Upon sexual maturity, the neomales are bred with non-GE Atlantic salmon females. Then, fertilized eggs are "subjected to pressure shock treatment," turning them into triploids with two sets of chromosomes from the non-GE female salmon and one set of chromosomes from the neomale GE salmon. These fish, the female triploids, will be commercialized as AquAdvantage salmon.
== Approval Process ==
The U.S. government will regulate the recombinant DNA in the salmon as a drug. Thus, it falls under the regulatory authority of the FDA. A few weeks after issuing its initial finding that the GE salmon is safe to eat, the FDA will hold two public meetings on the issue September 19-21, 2010.<ref>[http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/PublicHealthFocus/ucm224089.htm Public Meetings on Genetically Engineered Atlantic Salmon], U.S. FDA, Accessed September 7, 2010.</ref> The first, a meeting of the FDA's Veterinary Medicine Advisory Committee (VMAC) will take place September 19-20, addressing the scientific issues associated with the approval of GE salmon. The second, a public hearing in which the FDA will present the legal principles for food labeling and offer the public an opportunity to comment, will take place on September 21, 2010. Prior to the meetings, the FDA released a number of documents, including a briefing packet for the VMAC meeting describing the science used to determine the GE salmon's safety.<ref>[http://www.fda.gov/downloads/AdvisoryCommittees/CommitteesMeetingMaterials/VeterinaryMedicineAdvisoryCommittee/UCM224762.pdf Briefing Packet for AquAdvantage Salmon Veterinary Medicine Advisory Committee (PDF - 2506KB)], U.S. FDA.</ref>
