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Salmo domesticus is the result of selective breeding. Desired traits were observed, namely revolving around productivity or growth rate, and reproduced to finer degrees. The resulting generations were salmon, equipped with different metabolisms.
AquAdvantage salmon could be a called a more advanced selection: DNA manipulation. AquAdvantage were the result of a search for the proteins so perfectly equipping salmon to live in cold water. Paul Greenberg refers to it as the “anti-freeze protein’. The protein takes an interesting turn when researchers discovered it effected growth rates–specifically, by increasing growth rates. When a second copy of “anti-freeze’ was added, salmon growth doubled, resulting in AquAdvantage.
AquAdvantage salmon and Salmon domesticus are both artificial methods and the result of increasing salmon productivity through increased growth rates. However, Salmon domesticus was created through generations of selective breeding around desires characteristics. While AquAdvantage is genetically engineered with the desired characteristics. Whether as, Salmon domesticus already contain the desired genes, AquAdvantage are encoded. Additionally, AquAdvantage grows as twice the rate of Salmon domesticus.
I don’t necessarily agree genetic engineering is the obvious next step, but I don’t dismiss it as an option. On one hand I’m uncomfortable with the idea of genetically manipulating the food we eat, but I don’t have a compelling argument to explain why. I’ve read both sides, and haven’t found a definite line in the sand that specifically says genetic engineering is bad or good. It seems to be both, and I think that has to do with how we decided (and decide) to progress with it.
I also do not have a solid opinion on genetic engineering; I can see why it might be necessary, but there are also some problems. One of the major problems that I can see is ironically one of wild salmon’s greatest strengths, genetic diversity. By definition what is genetically engineered is not going to be genetically diverse, so diseases and other sicknesses that effect them can kill them all off. If people rely on genetically engineered food an outbreak can lead to a sudden food shortage.
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