In Vivo Analysis of Hair Cell Sensory Organs in Zebrafish: From Morphology to Function

Vestibular physiology and function in zebrafish

“…Both proper morphology and orientation of hair bundles within sensory organs are critical for organ function. For in-depth reviews of zebrafish hair cells and associated methods, in both inner ear and lateral line, see Abbas and Whitfield, 2010, Nicolson, 2017, Pickett and Raible, 2019and Hussain et al, 2022 The orientation of the hair bundles dictates the direction selectivity, or polarity, of the hair cell (Figure 1B). Within the maculae, hair cells near each other tend to have similar direction selectivity relative to those further away (Liu et al, 2022).…”

“…First, zebrafish are transparent as larvae and develop quickly. Zebrafish inner ears develop soon after fertilization; hair cells form at 24 h post fertilization (hpf) and the vestibular and auditory systems are functional at 5 days post fertilization (dpf) ( Hussain et al, 2022 ). This quick developmental timeline allows for direct anatomical, electrophysiological, and optical research into the ear ( Bagnall and Schoppik, 2018 ; Hussain et al, 2022 ).…”

“…Zebrafish inner ears develop soon after fertilization; hair cells form at 24 h post fertilization (hpf) and the vestibular and auditory systems are functional at 5 days post fertilization (dpf) ( Hussain et al, 2022 ). This quick developmental timeline allows for direct anatomical, electrophysiological, and optical research into the ear ( Bagnall and Schoppik, 2018 ; Hussain et al, 2022 ). Second, zebrafish are genetically accessible, which allows for the generation of mutants that label or perturb specific structures in the ear, vestibular nerve, or nuclei that can result in observable vestibular phenotypes.…”

“…Both proper morphology and orientation of hair bundles within sensory organs are critical for organ function. For in-depth reviews of zebrafish hair cells and associated methods, in both inner ear and lateral line, see Abbas and Whitfield, 2010 , Nicolson, 2017 , Pickett and Raible, 2019 and Hussain et al, 2022 .…”

Recent Advances in Bioimage Analysis Methods for Detecting Skeletal Deformities in Biomedical and Aquaculture Fish Species

“…One of the main advantages of using zebrafish as a model animal over other animals is its transparent body during early, external development life stages, especially from 0 to 10 days post-fertilization (dpf). The transparent body of the larva makes it easy for the biologists to see through its developing organs and bones during in vivo studies and also helps to produce bioimage datasets using various image acquisition equipment [25,26]. Given that image acquisition precedes image analysis, it is crucial to employ suitable imaging methods and protocols to ensure effective and accurate image analysis, particularly when conducting AI-based image analysis.…”