Land Animals
This domesticated bird is famous for its role in providing breakfast food, especially eggs.
Chicken - Featherless chickens were engineered to make the lives of farmers easier — de-feathering a chicken is no easy task.
Unfortunately, as New Scientist points out, many critics of GM feather-free chickens say they suffer more than normal birds. Males cannot mate, as they cannot flap their wings, and “naked” chickens also lose a protective layer of plumage that helps keep away parasites, mosquito bites, and sunburn.
This green, jumping amphibian starts life as a tadpole
Frog - Scientists at Hiroshima University genetically engineered a see-through frog for more humane research.
This will not be possible in mammals for a very long time because mammals have much thicker skin.
Scientists often use this small mammal in research because its DNA is surprisingly similar to humans.
Mouse - Vacanti mouse
In the late 90s, doctors Charles Vacanti, Joseph Vacanti, and Bob Langer started to create “biodegradable scaffoldings” of human body parts, including the human ear. Famously, they genetically engineered a mouse to grow a human ear on its body.
With rows of replaceable teeth and a cartilage skeleton, this animal rules the sea as a top predato
Shark - Scientists engineered a chemical substance typically used for cosmetic purposes and supplements that was originally collected from the livers of deep-sea sharks. This saves deep-sea sharks from being killed for the substance (triterpene squalene).
This barnyard animal shares 98% of its DNA with humans and is often used in medical research
Pig - Pigs that are resistant to a respiratory disease called Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome. This disease is estimated to cost farmers 1.5 billion euros in loss of livestock. The GMOs eliminate this loss.
This fish can live in both freshwater and saltwater and is famous for swimming upstream to spawn.
Salmon - Genetically modified salmon that takes half the time to grow compared to regular salmon in the wild.
In India, this domesticated mammal is considered sacred and often roams freely in urban areas.
Cow - Cows genetically modified to produce something resembling human milk.
Scientists in China and Argentina have genetically modified cows to produce milk that is similar to that produced by human mothers. Researchers modified an Argentinian cow’s embryo to produce milk containing proteins in human milk that are not typically present in cow milk.
Researchers will face many tests and hurdles before this type of milk is deemed as safe replacement milk for human infants.
These brightly colored aquarium fish were the first genetically modified pets sold in the U.S.
Glofish - The Glofish goes down in history as the first-ever genetically created designer pet. It was first engineered as a proof of concept for gene splicing by Dr. Gong at the National University of Singapore. In 1999, Gong and his team extracted the green fluorescent protein (GFP) from a jellyfish and inserted it into a zebrafish.
They were inspired by real-life fish and marine life that glows for biological purposes, such as catching prey.
Though tiny, this animal is considered the deadliest animal in the world due to the diseases it spreads
Mosquitos -
A British company called Oxitec created genetically modified male mosquitoes that carry a “self-limiting gene.” This means that when they are released into the wild and procreate with female mosquitoes, their offspring die at a young age.
This method has shown great potential in battling diseases such as Zika and malaria, which mosquitoes carry and spread. Unfortunately, some scientists argue that releasing genetically modified mosquitoes into the wild may have helped create a more resilient hybrid mosquito species.
Covered in spines, this marine animal moves with tube feet and eats algae off rocks
Sea urchins - Marine biologists have created a line of sea urchins whose genetic makeup is fully mapped and can be edited to study human disease genes.