The tilapia line GE-FLT 01, a.k.a. FLT01, has been developed by Intrexon and its subsidiary AquaBounty Technologies (known for the AquAdvantage salmon).
GE-FLT01 was developed using gene editing techniques and does not contain any foreign DNA or a new combination of genetic material.
According to the developers, the introduced modification(s) leads to the improvement in yield fillet, an increased growth rate and an improvement in feed conversion ratio.
In patent WO2019195679A1, "Tilapia with enhanced growth characteristics", Intrexon indicates that the knock-out of the myostatin gene (mstn) in tilapia can improve e.g. the fillet yield, the growth rate and the feed conversion. It is however not clear which gene was targeted in GE-FLT01.
'Tilapia' species that are of major economic importance are now placed in the genus Coptodon, Oreochormis, and Sarotherodon. According to the Intrexon patent, tilapia is a species selected from Oreochromis niloticus (Nile tilapia), O. aureus (Blue tilapia) and O. mossambicus (Mozambique tilapia).
