Mayo Clinic scientists working to understand HIV ended up with a strange side effect: a glow-in-the-dark cat. Years ago, scientists found that the gene responsible for a green fluorescent protein in crystal jellyfish also serves as an effective marker when adding new genes to an organism. So, they added the fluorescent protein and other genes of their choice to animals such as pigs, mice and fish, which caused them to glow. According to Eric Poeschla, a Mayo Clinic scientist on the project, this protein helped to mark cells so they could easily identify them under a microscope or by shining a light on the animal. The scientists also added the protein to a gene that blocks feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), the virus that causes feline AIDS, to unfertilized cat ova, which resulted in glowing kittens once the eggs were fertilized. While the cats are still susceptible to the AIDS virus, they showed signs of the anti-FIV gene, with subsequent generations exhibiting the same gene and the same glow-in-the-dark properties. This is especially helpful because, like HIV in humans, FIV works by wiping out infection-fighting T-cells in cats, according to BBC News. Studying the glowing cats' responses to FIV can help scientists understand HIV in humans.
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