A colour preference technique to evaluate acrylamide-induced toxicity in zebrafish

Abstract

The zebrafish has become a commonly used vertebrate model for toxicity assessment, of particular relevance to the study of toxic effects on the visual system because of the structural similarities shared by zebrafish and human retinae. In this article we present a colour preference-based technique that, by assessing the functionality of photoreceptors, can be used to evaluate the effects of toxicity on behaviour. A digital camera was used to record the locomotor behaviour of individual zebrafish swimming in a water tank consisting of two compartments separated by an opaque perforated wall through which the fish could pass. The colour of the lighting in each compartment could be altered independently (producing distinct but connected environments of white, red or blue) to allow association of the zebrafish's swimming behaviour with its colour preference. The functionality of the photoreceptors was evaluated based on the ability of the zebrafish to sense the different colours and to swim between the compartments. The zebrafish tracking was carried out using our algorithm developed with MATLAB. We found that zebrafish preferred blue illumination to white, and white illumination to red. Acute treatment with acrylamide (2mM for 36 hours) resulted in a marked reduction in locomotion and a concomitant loss of colour-preferential swimming behaviour. Histopathological examination of acrylamide-treated zebrafish eyes showed that acrylamide exposure had caused retinal damage. The colour preference tracking techniquehas applications in the assessment of neurodegenerative disorders, as a method for preclinical appraisal of drug efficacy and for behavioural evaluation of toxicity.

Reversal of reserpine-induced depression and cognitive disorder in zebrafish by sertraline and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)

“…The colour preference test could serve as a useful protocol for memory evaluation, cognitive dysfunction, assessment of neurodegenerative disorders, preclinical appraisal of drug efficacy and behavioural evaluation of toxicity [ 47 ]. Here, we evaluated cognitive impairment by the colour preference test.…”

Chronic Exposure to Low Concentration Lead Chloride-Induced Anxiety and Loss of Aggression and Memory in Zebrafish

“…Color-based experiments are known to be associated with aversion, anxiety, or fear in the zebrafish [64]. The color preference tracking technique is also applied to evaluate neurodegenerative disorders as an index for the preclinical appraisal of drug efficacy and for the behavioral evaluation of toxicity [65]. In this study, we carried out the color preference assay in a 21 cm × 21 cm × 10 cm acrylic tank filled with 1.5 L of filtered water.…”

A Novel Function of the Lysophosphatidic Acid Receptor 3 (LPAR3) Gene in Zebrafish on Modulating Anxiety, Circadian Rhythm Locomotor Activity, and Short-Term Memory

“…Therefore, in this study, a color preference test was done to investigate whether lpar3 gene deficiency would affect the color preference and perception of zebrafish. Unfortunately, there are still some differences regarding zebrafish color preference ranking based on several previous studies that may be caused by the differences in the color wavelength, light source position, and luminescence applied in the prior studies [44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51]. However, before conducting the experiment, considerable numbers of wild-type fish were tested to observe their color preferences ranking in our test with the current setting.…”