title: Why goldfish? Merits and challenges in employing goldfish as a model organism in comparative endocrinology research.
abstract: Goldfish has been used as an unconventional model organism to study a number of biological processes. For example, goldfish is a well-characterized and widely used model in comparative endocrinology, especially in neuroendocrinology. Several decades of research has established and validated an array of tools to study hormones in goldfish. The detailed brain atlas of goldfish, together with the stereotaxic apparatus, are invaluable tools for the neuroanatomic localization and central administration of endocrine factors. In vitro techniques, such as organ and primary cell cultures, have been developed using goldfish. In vivo approaches using goldfish were used to measure endogenous hormonal milieu, feeding, behaviour and stress. While there are many benefits in using goldfish as a model organism in research, there are also challenges associated with it. One example is its tetraploid genome that results in the existence of multiple isoforms of endocrine factors. The presence of extra endogenous forms of peptides and its receptors adds further complexity to the already redundant multifactorial endocrine milieu. This review will attempt to discuss the importance of goldfish as a model organism in comparative endocrinology. It will highlight some of the merits and challenges in employing goldfish as an animal model for hormone research in the post-genomic era.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Integrative Neuroendocrinology, Department of Veterinary Biomedical Sciences, Western College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, 52 Campus Drive, S7N 5B4 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada; Departamento de Fisiología (Fisiología Animal II), Facultad de Biología, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, José Antonio Nováis 12, 28040 Madrid, Spain. Electronic address: ayelenmelisablanco@ucm.es.
authors.forename: Ayelén Melisa
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Blanco
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Integrative Neuroendocrinology, Department of Veterinary Biomedical Sciences, Western College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, 52 Campus Drive, S7N 5B4 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. Electronic address: lakshmi.narasimhan@usask.ca.
authors.forename: Lakshminarasimhan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sundarrajan
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Integrative Neuroendocrinology, Department of Veterinary Biomedical Sciences, Western College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, 52 Campus Drive, S7N 5B4 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada; Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas-Instituto Tecnológico Chascomús, Avenida Intendente Marinos Km. 8,2, 7130 Chascomús, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Electronic address: jbertucci@intech.gov.ar.
authors.forename: Juan Ignacio
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Bertucci
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Integrative Neuroendocrinology, Department of Veterinary Biomedical Sciences, Western College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, 52 Campus Drive, S7N 5B4 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. Electronic address: suraj.unniappan@usask.ca.
authors.forename: Suraj
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Unniappan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004704:Endocrinology; D023281:Genomics; D006054:Goldfish / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D023421:Models, Animal; D009928:Organ Specificity; D012106:Research
keywords: Advantages; Comparative endocrinology; Goldfish; Model organisms; Neuroendocrinology; Techniques; Tools