Objectives of the present study were to characterize SCD‐1 gene in channel catfish and examine its mRNA expression in various tissues. Genetic selection toward increased growth results in development of obesity‐like phenotype in channel catfish, suggesting that channel catfish may serve as an alternative animal model to study human obesity development. However, the underlying mechanism(s) that results in the development of obesity‐like phenotype, as well as the consequence of developing such a phenotype, is unclear. In mammals, development of obesity leads to changes in expression and function of various enzymes involved in lipid metabolism such as stearoyl‐CoA desaturase‐1 (SCD‐1). Currently, little is known about the role of SCD‐1 in channel catfish physiology. Channel catfish expressed sequence tag clones that correspond to the zebrafish SCD‐1 sequence were identified and used as templates to generate primers for the RT‐PCR. The PCR amplicon (599 bp) was generated from channel catfish liver cDNA and shared high sequence similarity (around 70%) with SCD‐1 mRNA of various fish species. Expression of SCD‐1 mRNA was detected in brain, liver, and kidney. Currently, changes in expression of SCD‐1 mRNA in relation to changes in food intake and genetic selection toward growth are being investigated. This project is supported by the Kansas IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence.