CRISPRed fruit flies mimic monarch butterfly, and could make you vomit: Scientists recreate in flies the mutations that let monarch butterfly eat toxic milkweed with impunity
2019-10-03 15:56:08
Monarch butterflies and a few other insects evolved essentially the same genetic mutations allowing them to eat toxic milkweed without getting sick. Monarch butterflies and caterpillars store the toxins to deter predators. Scientists have now used CRISPR gene editing to make these same mutations in fruit flies, successfully conferring toxin resistance. This is the first time an animal has been genetically engineered to eat a new food and employ a new type of deterrence.
