Update: Transgenic glowing monkeys that can pass on their glowing genes to their offspring have been created for the first time.

Ruppy (short for “Ruby Puppy”) is the world’s first transgenic dog.

A team of scientists led by Lee Byeong Chun at the Seoul National University in South Korea inserted a gene taken from fluorescent sea anemones into Ruppy’s DNA. When Ruppy is exposed to ultraviolet light the red fluorescent protein glows.

More information:

• Fluorescent puppy is world’s first transgenic dog from New Scientist
• Lee, B.C. (2009) Generation of red fluorescent protein transgenic dogs, Genesis, 47(5), doi:10.1002/dvg.20504