Yeah, the fluorescent mice have been available to laboratories for a long time now, and in just a couple of weeks, everyone can have one.
Rats won't be available that way for some time.
Like glofish, I don't expect these mice will look exactly normal under normal lighting either--like glofish, blue lights will show them off best during the day, and blacklights will show them off best at night. But they're going to look interesting under normal lighting too.
They do not glow in the dark--they fluoresce when exposed to certain wavelengths of light. Those wavelengths are found in white light, but the effect is more pronounced when the proper wavelengths are concentrated.
Fluorescent rat: http://kumikae01.gen-info.osaka-u.ac.../GreenRatE.cfm
Fluorescent cats: http://www.care2.com/news/category/animals/fluorescent
Fluorescent pigs: http://www.trendsforpets.com/pets/glowing-pigs/
Fluorescent rabbit created as a work of art: http://www.medienkunstnetz.de/works/gfp-bunny/
Possible failed fluorescent monkey: http://www.genomenewsnetwork.org/art..._01/ANDi.shtml (He carries the genes, but doesn't fluoresce yet).
Last but definitely not least...
Spider goats: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/889951.stm
biopharmaceutical hen: http://www.mult-sclerosis.org/news/D...wChickens.html
biopharmaceutical sheep: http://library.thinkquest.org/C0122429/history/1990.htm
Mice are the most commonly created transgenic animals today, rats probably come in second place.
Lots of technical stuff on why GFP animals (fluorescent animals) aren't that hard to make: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2202/3/7
You do NOT have to know the entire genome of an animal in order to introduce GFP genes. Genetic engineering is much messier than you realize. And all you really need is a freshly laid ball python egg, and a male and female ball python, to get started. (And a lot of money and special equipment).
The beauty of these transgenic animals is that once you have a pair of them, you don't have to genetically engineer any more. You can go on and breed them normally and they'll keep on reproducing that added trait.
Once GFP production is added to the genes of some ball pythons, they will be able to be bred and crossed into other ball python lines, the same way we do to spread other genetic traits. I imagine this will cause a big stink--but people will get over it, since these animals will undoubtedly be worth quite a lot of money. It seems obvious that white snakes will show off GFP best. Their scales are clear. I predict that in the long run, GFP ball pythons will be just another morph...if this company ever actually gets around to producing them, as they hope to.
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