Erzurum Atatürk University, Faculty of Fisheries, Department of Aquaculture, Lecturer Prof. Dr. The study carried out by Abdulkadir Bayır and his team produced interesting results.
In order to make the Black Sea trout, which is an important genetic resource and has the ability to grow up to 26 kilograms, grow in a short time and be available for the market, Prof. Dr. TÜBİTAK-supported work was initiated under the leadership of Abdulkadir Bayır. Trout eggs brought from the Black Sea were subjected to microinjection in a laboratory environment. Mutant Black Sea fish were produced in the laboratory with the ‘CRISPR/Cas9’ technique, which was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2020.
With this technique, the growth and development of fish was accelerated by silencing the myostatin gene, which negatively affects growth. It was determined that the mutant fish, which were monitored together with the normal fish placed in the laboratory environment, grew 82 percent faster in a period of 10.5 months.
Prof. Dr. Abdulkadir Bayır stated that with the ‘CRISPR/Cas9’ technique, they used a natural defense mechanism developed by bacteria to protect themselves from the harmful effects of viruses in a laboratory environment. Bayır reported that the control group fish reached a weight of 45 grams in 10.5 months, while the mutant fish reached a weight of approximately 84 grams.
