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The Zebra Fish as a Model Organism for
Fig. 1:
3-day-old zebra fish
in red and green
fluorescence: antibody
labeled axon populations
and GFP motor neurons
NeoLumar S 1.5x
150x magnification.
Specimen:
Prof. M. Bastmeyer,
Dr.M.Marx,Friedrich
Schiller University
Jena, Germany.
Photo:
Dr. M. Zölffel, Carl Zeiss.
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The zebra fish (danio rerio) is
very easy to breed, requiring only
three days to develop from an
egg into a free-swimming larva.
As the zebra fish remains transparent
throughout its entire developmental
period, it is an ideal
organism for examinations of vertebrate
organ development under
the microscope. Examinations on
zebra fish models lead to a better
understanding of organ development
of “man the vertebrate”
and his diseases.
In cancer research
The zebra fish has already replaced
the well-established model organism
– the mouse – in cancer research: the
mouse has a longer developmental
cycle and the ontogenesis stages
are less translucent than in the
zebra fish. Until now, mice were used
that develop cancer cells (e. g.
leukemia) caused by genetic mutations.
These cells are transfected
with GFP using molecular biology
techniques. The extremely powerful
SteREO Lumar.V12 fluorescence
stereo microscope enables scientists
to optimally view and research the
progression of the disease.
For retinal diseases
Degenerative changes to the retina
are genetic diseases in people that
cause photosensitive receptor cells
to die. This is one of the most common
causes of blindness in humans.
Zebra fish suffer from similar genetic
eye diseases. The development of
the fish eye and the activation of the
nerve fibers in the zebra fish’s eye
are very similar to the human eye.
The short development period of
the zebra fish permits observation of
these degenerative retinal processes
with the SteREO Discovery.V12 and
Lumar.V12 high-resolution stereomicroscopes
as if in slow motion,
thus enabling better research into
the cause of blindness and possible
treatment methods. The eyesight of
zebra fish larva is examined using a
special test. The stereomicroscope
makes it possible to examine the
developing eyes of blind as well
as normally sighted fish and also
compare them to each other.
1
The First Stereomicroscope
Came from Jena
It all started at the Weimar Courtyard
in Jena in 1892. Under the leadership
of Ernst Abbe and developmental
biologist Ernst Haeckel, this was
the regular meeting point for
science employees from the university
and the Zeiss Works. At one of
these gatherings, American zoologist
Horatio S. Greenough expressed his
wish for a ”binocular microscope
that renders true 3D images.”
Carl Zeiss set to work on fulfilling
this wish and constructed the first
industrially manufactured stereomicroscope
at the end of 1897 – the
Greenough double microscope.
Innovation 15, Carl Zeiss AG, 2005