Table 1 Advantages of the zebrafish model
From: Hematopoietic stem cells, hematopoiesis and disease: lessons from the zebrafish model
Zebrafish trait/procedure | Advantages provided |
|---|---|
Externally fertilized, transparent embryos | Visualization (fluorescence or morphologic screening); manipulation (morpholino, DNA, RNA injection) |
Blood circulation by 23-26 hpf | Rapid initiation of hematopoiesis |
Sexual maturity at 3 months | Short generation time for increased genetic manipulation and transgenic development |
Large clutch size (100-200 embryos per pair or 10,000+ embryos per mass mating) | Increased likelihood of success for low probability genetic crosses/transgenic development; massive clutches of synchronized embryos make large-scale screening protocols possible |
Conserved hematopoietic system | Relevant model for comparison with human/mammalian systems |
Fluorescent and confocal microscopy procedures | Increased visual resolution resulting in greater potential for hematopoietic fate mapping |
Transplantable kidney marrow | Ability to perform competitive transplantation assays screening for molecules capable of enhancing HSC development and engraftment and hematopoiesis |