Tag Archives: zebrafish genome

Zebrafish: A Toxicologist’s Ally

By Roberta Attanasio, IEAM Blog Editor

Danio rerio, photo by , licensed under

Fishing for the biological effects of contaminants present in the aquatic eco-environment relies, in many instances, on a fish-based model system – the tiny zebrafish, famous for the transparency of its embryos and the remarkable abundance of different transgenic lines. These lines express fluorescent proteins in specific cellular types, or during specific biological processes – because of embryo transparency, the fluorescent, glowing proteins can easily be visualized to detect changes resulting from chemical perturbation.
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