Model Organisms in Drug Discovery

7
Genetics and Genomics in the
Zebrafish – from Gene to
Function and Back
Stefan Schulte-Merker
7.1 Zebrafish – a model system with utilities beyond the
study of development
Ever since the pioneering efforts of G. Streisinger in the early 1980s (Streisinger
et al., 1981), increasing numbers of researchers have taken on zebrafish as their
favorite system in which to address questions of developmental, physiological
and medical biology. A great variety of zebrafish methods and techniques have
been compiled over the years and, owing to its popularity, zebrafish is one of the
vertebrates whose genome currently is being sequenced. The purpose of this
chapter is to provide an introduction to some of the advantages and
shortcomings of the zebrafish as a model organism. There is no attempt to
cover all of the detailed zebrafish methodologies, instead this chapter is designed
to highlight some of the principles and approaches that are being taken with
zebrafish in order to address biological questions.
Initially, zebrafish were used primarily to study early developmental
processes such as gastrulation and neuronal patterning. The embryos are
transparent through the early phases of development, and many of the
processes of interest to the developmental biologist are readily observable
simply by focusing up and down a dissecting microscope. Moreover,
fertilization is external, allowing embryos to develop synchronously in a
Model Organisms in Drug Discovery. Edited by Pamela M. Carroll and Kevin Fitzgerald
Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. ISBN: 0-470-84893-6