First Genetically Modified Albino Lizard

Genetics have been changed on mice, pigs, sheep, chickens, goats and butterflies during research projects in the past decades. However reptiles have been pretty much untouched when it came to scientific research so far. With tools such as the Crispr making gene editing much easier to manipulate, students at the University of Georgia decided to give reptile genetics a make over.

The first nearly transparent Anolis Lizard has the claim to fame of being the subject of this scientific study in which graduate student Ashley Rasys participated. She was floored when she saw the lizard as she didn’t really expect to be successful. The lizard broke through it’s thick egg shell to reveal the albino trait that had been modified into it’s genes. The trait was chosen by the students as it was a visual marker.

Douglas Menke is the director of the Department of Genetics at the university. Douglas says that they can now create two to four mutant lizards from just a day’s work. With one successful gene editing tweak under their belts, now one wonders what the researchers will experiment with next.