Mutation blocks fat absorption
A newly discovered gene in zebrafish seems to prevent the animals from absorbing fat molecules from their diets. The finding could lead to new strategies to fight obesity, high cholesterol, and other lipid-related disorders in people.
Five years ago, Baltimore-based Steven A. Farber of the Carnegie Institution of Washington (D.C.) and his colleagues discovered mutant zebrafish larvae that don’t absorb lipids from dietary fat. Since all cells need fat to function properly, this disorder killed the larvae soon after they hatched. The researchers suspected that a single gene was altered in the mutant fish.