A group of researchers in Massachusetts has made what sounds like science fiction come to life by successfully engineering a see-through squid.
Scientists at the Marine Biological Laboratory altered the DNA of the hummingbird bobtail squid to create an albino strain that leaves the animal nearly transparent.
Not only that, the team says it’s the first time a genetically engineered cephalopod has been bred through multiple generations.
Researchers say the see-through organism offers scientists, for the first time, clear optical access for visualizing the nervous system in a living cephalopod -- which include squid, octopus and cuttlefish.
"There's a whole lot of incredibly interesting biology surrounding cephalopods, unlike any other invertebrate," MBL Senior Scientist Joshua Rosenthal, who co-led the study, said in a statement. "We now have a model cephalopod where we can interrogate biological function at much higher resolution than before."
Researchers are interested in studying the biology of cephalopods because the animals have a nervous system and behaviors that are far more complex than most invertebrates. For example, they can learn and remember intricate tasks: cephalopods solve mazes, use tools, and even learn by watching others. They can also instantaneously camouflage themselves and manipulate their surroundings with their arms and tentacles.
For the study, the team used the thumb-sized hummingbird bobtail squid.
To create the see-through version, the team utilized a gene editing technology called CRISPR to essentially deactivate the genes that cause pigmentation. After than, scientists are able to study the squid's brain activity by inserting a fluorescent dye that glows every time it detects calcium, which the brain releases when it fires.
This discovery "allows us to look at gene function and cephalopod brains in ways we couldn't before," said Rosenthal.
The study findings were published in July in the journal Current Biology.
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