Zebrafish danio rerio as a model organism intechopen. In december 1996, a special issue of development appeared that presented in 37 papers the results of two large screens for zebrafish mutants performed in tubingen and boston. Zebrafish as model organism for drug discovery and toxicity testing. While no change was observed in pink1 or parkindeficient zebrafish, an increase in. The use of zebrafish danio rerio as a model organism began in the 1960s. The most commonly identified mutation in human melanomasa single amino acid change in the gene brafwas created in zebrafish to make a knockin model. Zebrafish are earning their stripes as a model organism, giving scientists funded by the national institutes of health the opportunity to watch biological processes in action and apply their. In its larval stages it is transparent and as it matures to an adult it develops stripes that run along the length of the body and look blue in colour. The zebrafish danio rerio has become an important vertebrate model organism for a wide range of scientific research questions including development, genetics, and disease. Microfluidic tools for developmental studies of small. Zfin curators provide expert manual curation and integration of. An animal model for research in veterinary medicine.
Zebrafish embryo assays can also help to predict drug safety in human. This isnt about why i think the model organism that i work with is the best, as its very clear to me that there is a tremendous need for and benefit from multiple models both. Headwaters of the zebrafish emergence of a new model. Danio rerio zebrafish is an excellent model organism for cnv studies. The zebrafish information network zfin is the database of genetic and genomic data for the zebrafish danio rerio as a model organism.
An animal model, on the other hand, is a condition studied in an animal, for example mptpinduced parkinsonism, metrazolinduced epilepsy, and many others. Although no animal can perfectly model a human disease, i believe these little striped swimmers have great potential for advancing medical research in the future. Challenges in using zebrafish as a new model for dili. Here,we retrace the auspicious origins of the zebrafish field that were recognized at that meeting, and the subsequent innovations that transformed the zebrafish into a leading model organism. Pdf the study of zebrafish as a leading model organism for developmental biology is rapidly expanding. The zebrafish danio rerio hamilton, 1822 has become an excellent model organism for studies of vertebrate biology, genetics, development, diseases and drug screening nowik et al. The zebrafish model has recently emerged as a significant experimental system for developmental biology studies. Pros and cos of zebrafish zebrafish as a model organism. We propose that the zebrafish is an ideal vertebrate system in which to model cancer. The zebrafish genome has been fully sequenced, which is a musthave for model organisms nowadays.
Headwaters of the zebrafish emergence of a new model vertebrate. They are used in the laboratory to help scientists understand biological processes. Adult zebrafish as a model organism for behavioural. In summary, the zebrafish has become a wellestablished model organism. Pdf on nov 27, 2018, farmanur rahman khan and others published zebrafish danio rerio as a. Once known mostly as a tropical fish pet, the zebrafish has developed into a powerful model organism for studying development and organogenesis. May 11, 2015 the zebrafish genome has been fully sequenced, which is a musthave for model organisms nowadays. Adult zebrafish as a model organism for behavioural genetics. Why are zebrafish ideal models for development and disease. A model organism is a wellknown, widely used organism in research, like the worm, the fly, the zebrafish and so on. Studies involving zebrafish have been important in many fields of research including oncology, regeneration and particularly embryonic development. The zebrafish danio rerio is a powerful model organism for the stud y of vertebrate biology, being well suited to both developmental and genetic ana lysis. Feb 26, 2019 please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report.
Mar 08, 2016 zebrafish as a model for angiogenesis research while the models described above have provided essential information and platforms for discovery of therapeutic targets and drugs, many questions about the biology of vascular cells and how they build the circulatory system remain unresolved. Pdf zebrafish danio rerio as a model organism researchgate. The expression of mir155 was assessed in three different zebrafish models of pd. The zebrafish is now a wellestablished model system whereas zebrafish research was. The ease of care, prolific breeding, and rapid, external development has made zebrafish an increasingly popular model organism in recent decades, though its use as a model vertebrate for development extends back at least to the 1930s, when charles creaser at wayne state university then wayne university began advocating for their use in. The zebrafish model organism database zfin healthdata. Recent research has demonstrated the suitability of adult zebrafish to model some aspects of complex behaviour. They do well in many environments, and their small size, their ability to be kept together in large numbers, and the ease with which they can be bred makes them a favored model. In the past 5 years, a detailed picture has begun to emerge of the molecular underpinnings of the cellintrinsic and the cellextrinsic apoptosis.
First used in the 1960s in biological research, zebrafish have proven to be excellent model organisms for developmental and disease studies. The potential of zebrafish as a model organism for improving the. Zebrafish danio rerio is emerging as an increasingly successful model for translational research on human neurological disorders. In its larval stages it is transparent and as it matures to an adult it develops stripes. The zebrafish is particularly well suited for this research due to its small size, rapid development, short generation time, optical transparency of embryos and larvae as. Analysis of nup3 expression in zebrafish embryos by in situ mrna hybridization ish and. Model organisms are a tool for scientists to better understand biology. Microfluidic tools for developmental studies of small model.
Zebrafish as an emerging model organism to study angiogenesis. Guidance on the housing and care of zebrafish, danio rerio 3 acknowledgements the authors would like to thank the following people for their helpful comments during the preparation of this resource. The isolation and molecular analysis of zebrafish behavioural mutants is now starting, allowing the. Zebrafish danio rerio is an important model for vertebrate development, genomics, physiology, behavior, toxicology, and disease. The zebrafish comes close to being the ideal model organism for vertebrate development because it appears to combine the best features of all the other models. In the past 5 years, a detailed picture has begun to emerge of the molecular. Adult zebrafish are small in size, they grow quickly, and they breed readily. Zebrafish as a model for angiogenesis research while the models described above have provided essential information and platforms for discovery of therapeutic targets and drugs, many questions about the biology of vascular cells and how they. Now that you know why zebrafish make great model organisms, lets take a look at how theyve earned their stripes in the lab. The zebrafish is a tropical fish native to southeast asia. Apr 29, 2014 challenges in using zebrafish as a new model for dili. The zebrafish as a model organism for the study of.
As more is understood about the comparative genome, anatomy, and physiology of zebrafish to that of humans, the relevance and utility of this vertebrate model will only grow and provide a powerful complement to the murine system. Zfin provides a wide array of expertly curated, organized and crossreferenced zebrafish research data. Since cancers are caused by a combination of several genetic alterations, this knockin zebrafish line was used to screen other potential cancer causing mutations. Zebrafish are often exposed to a drug by dissolving the drug in the water, which enables easy and fast drug administration. The same traits that make zebrafish popular pets also make them good model organisms. Use in studying cellular mechanisms for a spectrum of. Since scientists learned to selectively mutate zebrafish dna in 1988giving them the ability to turn the species into models of human diseasesthe number of biomedical zebra fish papers has skyrocketed, from 26 to 2,100 last year.
Guidance on the housing and care ofzebrafishdanio rerio. This effort showed that their genome is remarkably similar to the human one, with at least 70% of human genes having a zebrafish equivalent a figure that is even higher when only diseasecausing genes are considered. Pdf zebrafish as a genetic model organism researchgate. Oct 15, 2012 zebrafish are earning their stripes as a model organism, giving scientists funded by the national institutes of health the opportunity to watch biological processes in action and apply their. However, the embryo is simpler than the frog, it develops faster and, like worms and. The zebrafish is a widely used vertebrate model for development, it was first established as a useful model organism by george streisinger, zebrafish are as commonly used as rats and mice. Zebrafishembryo assays can also help to predict drug safety in human. Genetic techniques are not yet as refined as for classic invertebrate model organisms such as c. The most wellknown of these models is the fruit fly drosophila melanogaster, but in the last fifteen years the zebrafish has been increasing in recognition. Phylogeny of zebrafish, a model species, within danio, a. A model organism is a nonhuman species that has been widely studied, usually because it is easy to maintain and breed in a laboratory setting and has particular experimental advantages. In a previously established zebrafish model of pd, mir3b knockdown completely rescued a 15% decrease in dopaminergic neuron number.
Largescale chemical screens zebrafish are not just aquatic mice. This is largely due to significant homology with higher vertebrates, but also because of the opportunities for genetic manipulation and in vivo imaging. Have a look at the advantages and disadvantages of the zebrafish as a model for tb, which is depicted in table 1a and table 1b respectively. The answer is quite simply that zebrafish are an excellent vertebrate model organism and here are some reasons why. Although a substantial amount of research demonstrates the potential of zebrafish as a model of liver toxicity, there are a number of challenges. Zfin curators provide expert manual curation and integration of comprehensive data involving zebrafish.
Apoptosis plays important roles in embryogenesis, tissue homeostasis, and immune system regulation. The importance of zebrafish in biomedical research universidade. Zebrafish as a translational model of white rose university. The timing of the adoption of zebrafish as an emerging model organism could not be better, as mouse studies often fail to translate to humans. No single model is perfect, but zebrafish have features that make them easy to maintain, manipulate, and observe in the lab. Dec 24, 2009 the zebrafish danio rerio is a powerful vertebrate model organism that has been extensively used to study apoptotic cell death during normal development and under conditions of cellular stress.
Zebrafish as model organism for drug discovery and toxicity. An alternative vertebrate organism, the zebrafish, is conducive to largescale genetics. The zebrafish remains a relatively underdeveloped model organism with large amounts of untapped potential. Purpose the goals of the database are to develop and support integrated zebrafish genetic, genomic and developmental information. Model organisms are beloved by researchers investigating developmental biology, the progression of an organism from a fertilised egg into an adult. At the time, several groups were investigating the. One of the most popular animal models in research is the zebrafish, a tropical fish which is native to the rice paddies of asia. Authority the zebrafish model organism database is produced by the. Additionally, work on numerous danio species is elucidating evolutionary mechanisms for morphological development. The zebrafish is particularly well suited for this research due to its small size, rapid development, short generation time, optical transparency of embryos and larvae as well as functional conservation of genes.
Five reasons why zebrafish make excellent research models nc3rs. Zebrafish danio rerio is an ideal model organism for the study of vertebrate. Scientists use a variety of laboratory techniques to investigate the genetic cause of human diseases. The zebrafish is a relatively new research organism, which means that background data and resources are fewer by comparison with more established models. Use the right organism to answer a specific question. The zebrafish as a model for gastrointestinal tracta. The zebrafish has become a powerful model species for studying vertebrate development because females lay transparent eggs, allowing direct examination of the embryo in real time as it grows. Zebrafish as model organism for drug discovery and.
In one set of experiments we are cloning the promoter regions for zebrafish alpha crystallins, the portions of dna that determine where each gene is used. Have you ever heard someone say that to truly understand how something works, you have to take it. Use in studying cellular mechanisms for a spectrum of clinical disease entities chihsin hsu, zhihong wen. Zebrafish genomes contain a large amount of variation with 14. Zfin serves as the zebrafish model organism database. Danio rerio zebrafish the zebrafish is a widely used vertebrate model for development, it was first established as a useful model organism by george streisinger, zebrafish are as commonly used as rats and mice. While mice and rats have been common choices for modeling human diseases in the past, the use of zebrafish. The zebrafish as a model for human disease sciencedirect. No matter where you are in your career, we would welcome you and encourage you to consider joining our community. In the 1970s, george streisinger pioneered the establishment of the zebrafish model. Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report. Model organisms are not organisms that get dressed up and pose for pictures although that would be cool. The zebrafish offers unique advantages over other vertebrates and is therefore rapidly emerging as a model organism for a wide range of human diseases, both genetic and acquired, and for. The zebrafish danio rerio is perhaps the model organism with the fastest rising popularity in science right now.
Thaker department of veterinary pharmacology and toxicology, college of veterinary science and animal husbandry, anand agricultural university, anand388001, gujarat, india. A particularly exciting approach would be to combine the power of zebrafish genetics with chemical. Apr 23, 2014 the zebrafish has become a powerful model species for studying vertebrate development because females lay transparent eggs, allowing direct examination of the embryo in real time as it grows. The zebrafish as a model organism for the study of apoptosis. In addition, the transparency of embryos and larvae allow realtime imaging of internal processes and tracking gene activities. Like the frog, zebrafish embryos develop externally and can be viewed and manipulated at all stages. As every animal model used for research in developmental biology, zebrafish has its pros and cos. The isolation and molecular analysis of zebrafish behavioural mutants is now starting. Zebrafish developmental movies movie of zebrafish development, 2cell stage to 16somite stage approx. Studies of reward behaviour, learning and memory, aggression, anxiety and sleep strongly suggest that conserved regulatory processes underlie behaviour in zebrafish and mammals.
Research often utilizes patients cells or tissue samples, but to determine if a mutation in a specific gene can cause a patients symptoms, we often need experimental animal models. The reputation of this small tropical fish was firmly established during the nineties of the previous century when big genetic screening projects in the us and europe led to the discovery. Up to this day, the mutants provide a rich resource for many. Advantages of using zebrafish as a model organism andor.
Jun 15, 2012 the zebrafish danio rerio is perhaps the model organism with the fastest rising popularity in science right now. The pros and cons of using zebrafish as a tuberculosis model make us to think twice to use them for antimycobacterial activity. Mirko rosenau complex ethical concerns surrounding human testing have resulted in the use of animal models within the field of medical research. The zebrafish danio rerio is a powerful vertebrate model organism that has been extensively used to study apoptotic cell death during normal development and under conditions of cellular stress.
Advantages of using zebrafish as a model organism zebrafish danio rerio are small tropical fish 2. Zebrafish as model for studying human diseases no other vertebrate model organisms popularity has grown as quickly as that of the zebrafish. To varying degrees, all species in genus danio share with zebrafish the biological characteristics that allowed d. The zebrafish, danio rerio, has emerged as an enormously powerful model organism for biomedical translational research over recent years. Yet, the relationships of zebrafish and its closest relatives remain unclear possibly due to incomplete lineage sorting, speciation with. The papers describe about 1500 mutations in more than 400 new genes involved in a wide range of processes that govern development and organogenesis. Zebrafish as a model organism has the advantage of a large number of offspring.
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