Regulatory Approval of Genetically Engineered AquAdvantage Salmon

More than 30 years after the first reports of successful gene transfer in animals, regulatory approval for the commercial application of the first transgenic food animal was recently realized. AquaBounty Technologies Inc. was successful in securing Unites States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) approval for the cultivation and sale of a line of transgenic Atlantic salmon, with the brand name AquAdvantage Salmon. This salmon line was engineered to contain a single additional copy of a salmon growth hormone gene isolated from the Chinook salmon genome, under the control of regulatory elements from an ocean pout anti-freeze protein gene.  The phenotype associated with this transgenic line was remarkable, with transgenic fish exhibiting a growth rate to market size more than double that of non-transgenic siblings. In addition, the transgenic fish exhibited a significant improvement in feed efficiency. The commercial approval of this line of salmon indicates that the US FDA framework for approval of transgenic food animals is navigable. This opens exciting possibilities for future commercial deployment of genetically engineered food animals to increase the productivity and sustainability of animal agriculture.