Brazilian artist discusses the artistic promises of genetic engineering,
proposes
creating a
transgenic glowing dog:
Transgenic art, I propose, is a new art form based on the use of genetic engineering techniques to transfer synthetic genes to an organism or to transfer natural
genetic material from one species into another, to create unique living beings. Molecular genetics allows the artist to engineer the plant and animal genome
and create new life forms...
Hence, my current work: GFP K-9. GFP stands for Green Fluorescent Protein, which is isolated from Pacific
Northwest jellyfish (Aequorea Victoria) and which emits bright green light when exposed to UV or blue light... The use of the Green Fluorescent Protein in a
dog is absolutely harmless, since GFP is species independent and requires no additional proteins or substrates for green light emission.