title: Learning to Fish with Genetics: A Primer on the Vertebrate Model Danio rerio.
abstract: In the last 30 years, the zebrafish has become a widely used model organism for research on vertebrate development and disease. Through a powerful combination of genetics and experimental embryology, significant inroads have been made into the regulation of embryonic axis formation, organogenesis, and the development of neural networks. Research with this model has also expanded into other areas, including the genetic regulation of aging, regeneration, and animal behavior. Zebrafish are a popular model because of the ease with which they can be maintained, their small size and low cost, the ability to obtain hundreds of embryos on a daily basis, and the accessibility, translucency, and rapidity of early developmental stages. This primer describes the swift progress of genetic approaches in zebrafish and highlights recent advances that have led to new insights into vertebrate biology.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Queens College, and The Graduate Center, City University of New York, New York 10016.
authors.forename: Nathalia G
authors.initials: NG
authors.lastname: Holtzman
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania 18015.
authors.forename: M Kathryn
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Iovine
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Minnesota Duluth, Minnesota 55812 joliang@d.umn.edu.
authors.forename: Jennifer O
authors.initials: JO
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology and Geology, Baldwin Wallace University, Berea, Ohio 44017.
authors.forename: Jacqueline
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Morris
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D023421:Models, Animal; D038081:Organogenesis / Q000235:genetics*; D012038:Regeneration / Q000235:genetics*; D015027:Zebrafish / Q000196:embryology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development