A Toxicological Study using Zebrafish (Danio rerio) as a Model
Citable URI
https://hdl.handle.net/1912/6314Keyword
Zebrafish; Toxicology; Education; Laboratory studyAbstract
Only recently has it been adequately recognized that substances present in the environment can
have adverse effects on developing organisms. Now, with environmental pollutants accumulating
at an unprecedented rate, and with pharmaceuticals dominating western medicine, it is
particularly important that we understand the effects of the substances to which we are exposed.
Zebrafish (Danio rerio) has become a widely used model system for the study of vertebrate
development. This system is particularly amenable for use in the undergraduate laboratories
because of the ease of collection and manipulation and the rapid rate of development. In this lab,
students use zebrafish to examine the effects of nicotine, ethanol, and retinoic acid on normal
development. Students first examine normal development and compare it to overall growth, dry
weight, and behavior of zebrafish exposed to these chemicals. The students may also collect
data on LC50 and notochord length. The quantitative data is evaluated for statistically significant
differences between treatments. Finally, students write a research proposal for an independent
experiment in which they expose embryos to a toxicant of their choice, carry out the experiment,
and present their findings. This lab introduces students to the use of animal models and
incorporates experimental design and data analysis. More importantly, it introduces
Collections
Suggested Citation
Journal of Toxicological Education 1 (2013): 10-20The following license files are associated with this item:
Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States
Related items
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
-
Zebrafish cardiovascular cDNA microarrays : expression profiling and gene discovery in embryos exposed to 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-ρ-dioxin
Handley, Heather Martin (Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2003-09)2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-ρ-dioxin (TCDD) is a potent teratogen that impacts the developing cardiovascular system. Hallmarks of embryonic exposure include cardiac malformation, impaired circulation, loss of erythrocytes, ... -
Development of the morpholino gene knockdown technique in Fundulus heteroclitus : a tool for studying molecular mechanisms in an established environmental model
Matson, Cole W.; Clark, Bryan W.; Jenny, Matthew J.; Fleming, Carrie R.; Hahn, Mark E.; Di Giulio, Richard T. (2008-02-13)A significant challenge in environmental toxicology is that many genetic and genomic tools available in laboratory models are not developed for commonly used environmental models. The Atlantic killifish (Fundulus heteroclitus) ... -
Nrf2 and Nrf2-related proteins in development and developmental toxicity : insights from studies in zebrafish (Danio rerio)
Hahn, Mark E.; Timme-Laragy, Alicia R.; Karchner, Sibel I.; Stegeman, John J. (2015-06-15)Oxidative stress is an important mechanism of chemical toxicity, contributing to developmental toxicity and teratogenesis as well as to cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases and diabetic embryopathy. Developing ...