Breeding Zebrafish: A Review of Different Methods and a Discussion on Standardization

Abstract

In recent years, a rapidly increasing number of scientific papers have been published that utilize zebrafish (Danio rerio) as an alternative model organism in the study of a wide range of biological phenomena from cancer to behavior. This is, in large part, due to the prolific nature, relative ease of maintenance, and sufficiently high genetic homology of zebrafish to humans. With the surge of zebrafish use in animal research, the variations in methodologies of breeding and husbandry of this species have also increased. Investigators usually focus on the development and implementation of rigorous laboratory control that is specific to their studies. We suggest that the same scrutiny and attention may be required for the methods of breeding and housing of zebrafish. This article reviews a variety of zebrafish husbandry and breeding techniques and conditions employed around the world. It discusses factors ranging from numerous aspects of rearing/housing conditions through the sex ratio of the breeding group to the composition of the diet of zebrafish that may vary across laboratories. It provides some feedback on the potential pros and cons of the different methods. It argues that there is a substantial need for systematic analysis of these methods, that is, the effects of environmental factors on zebrafish health and breeding. It also discusses the question as to whether some degree of standardization of these methods is needed to enhance cross-laboratory comparability of results.

Effects of chronic prazosin, an alpha-1 adrenergic antagonist, on anxiety-like behavior and cortisol levels in a chronic unpredictable stress model in zebrafish (Danio rerio)

“…Thus, the impact of both prazosin and chronic stress on our dependent measures may be masked by including both sexes in the analyses. The current results support a recent call for much more research into the housing, breeding, and other husbandry conditions that may be contributing factors to differences in experimental results between laboratories (Lidster et al, 2017;Tsang et al, 2017;Varga, Ekker & Lawrence, 2018).…”

Zebrafish studies on the vaccine candidate to COVID-19, the Spike protein: Production of antibody and adverse reaction

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Glis3as a Critical Regulator of Thyroid Primordium Specification

“…Wild-type adults (AB strain) were obtained from the Wilson lab, University College of London, UK, and maintained in a flow-through system in charcoal-filtered tap water at a constant temperature (28±1°C), with a photoperiod of 14:10 (light:dark). Zebrafish embryos, obtained from natural spawning, were raised and maintained according to established techniques (29,30), and staged according to morphological criteria (31).…”