Zebrafish (Danio Rerio) Inmodeling Brain Disorders

Zebrafish (Danio rerio) has been considered as an increasingly popular model organism for biomedical research since 1980s. Due to highly conserved nature of both genetics and cell biology as higher vertebrates, Zebrafish is a suitable animal model in screening leading compounds and identifying drug targets. Small body size, ease of care, rapid development, and transparency of the Zebrafish embryo allow researchers to visualize the processes of morphogenesis in early developmental stages with the high throughput screening and in the cost-effectiveness of producing and maintaining a large number of larvae in the laboratory. Moreover, variety of gene editing tools including chemical and insertional mutagenesis, morpholino antisense knockdown, and recent target-selected mutagenesis approaches have been available to model human diseases in Zebrafish. By reviewing current studies, we highlight the use of Zebrafish in representing depression, brain tumor, epilepsy, and anxiety brain disorders. As a relatively simple and feasible vertebrate species, Zebrafish provides new promises in defining disease pathway and discovering specific and powerful therapies.