Fishy birth control
June 25, 2009
In yet another example of shifting ecosystems devastating fisheries, lampreys — jawless fish that evolve over 400 million years ago — are wreaking havoc on the Great Lakes, devouring trout, salmon, sturgeon, and other game fish. But researchers at the University of California San Diego may have found a solution: contraception. It wasn’t exactly what they were looking for when they used computer programming to model the lamprey estrogen receptor, but it’s exactly what they got.
They discovered that the extra functional group on the lamprey’s estrogen has a unusual interaction with the amino acid methionine, found only in lamprey estrogen receptors. The uniqueness of this chemical interaction suggests that compounds exist or can be engineered that interfere only with the estrogen signaling of lampreys, and not of all the game fish populations conservationists would like to restore. If that’s the case, perhaps scientists could prevent lampreys from rapidly reproducing and killing off the fishermen’s catch.
My question is: even if they are able to create a contraceptive that targets lampreys and lampreys only, should we use it? Who are we to prevent nature from running its course?
