Scientific name: Danio rerio
Origin: India
Adult size: 4 to 5cm in length
Life span: 3.5 to 5.5 years
Life span: 3.5 to 5.5 years
As a model organism:
- Pioneer work on zebrafish as a model organism for vertebrate embryology studies was initiated by Streisinger et al., 1981.
- Dedicated online databases such as Zebrafish Information Network (ZFIN) - http://zfin.org/, have been established to provide comprehensive information in genomics, molecular tools, developmental stages and publications (Bradford et al., 2011).
Small fish, big science:
- The whole zebrafish genome has also been successfully sequenced by Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute - https://www.sanger.ac.uk/resources/zebrafish/, through a project which was initiated in year 2001.
- The zebrafish genome is about half the size of human genome, and it shares a lot of similarity with human genome in various developmental as well as disease associated genes (Howe et al., 2013).
Transparency:
- Unlike mammals, zebrafish develops externally. It develops from a fertilized egg into an adult outside of its mother.
- Enable easy observations of developing anatomical structures under the microscope.
- We could observe how a single cell develops into a multicellular organism.
- Even the larvae are transparent during the first few days of their lives.
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| Zebrafish embryogenesis |
Fast embryonic development:
- All major organs develop in the first 24 hours after fertilization.
- The larvae will hatch and start to look for food within 3 days.
- They become sexually matured adults after 3 to 4 months.
- An adult female zebrafish can lay up to 700 eggs per week.
Regeneration abilities:
- Zebrafish can regenerate its organs and tissues (fins, heart, brain, pigment cells, barbels, liver, pancreas and skin).
- Help to elucidate disorders related to human beings such as neurodegenerative and heart diseases.
Hope you enjoy reading these notes!
Cheers,
Cutie Xing
