Shortening the breeding period of transgenic fish using growth hormone levels as an indicator

In order to shorten the breeding period of fast-growing transgenic fish and reduce the workload of selection, this study introduced a new screening method to detect the growth hormone (GH) serum levels in Cyprinid fish by the combination of ELISA and monoclonal antibody technology. To test the effectiveness of this new method, the serum GH levels and growth rates between transgenic carps and controls were examined; at the same time the conventional PCR method was also employed for comparison. In the F-4-generation, which were the descendents of fast-growing transgenic or normal carps, the serum GH levels between transgenic and control carps were significantly different by ELISA. Transgenic carp growth rates were consistently and significantly higher than in the controls. Compared with the conventional PCR screening that easily resulted in false positive outcomes, the new screening method by ELISA detection directly selected the effectively integrated transgenic fishes, which can remarkably shorten the breeding period of transgenic fish