The Experts Speak - Views on Four Key Questions About Zebrafish Research

Keith C Cheng, Peter Alestrom, Gerrit Begemann, Kathryn E Crosier, Philip S Crosier, Stephen Ekker, Anna Huttenlocher, Koichi Kawakami, Gregory Kelly, Vladimir Korzh, Graham J Lieschke, Marina Mione, Melody N Neely, Stephan Neuhauss, Nikolaus S Trede, Michael J Carvan III

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleOther

4 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Our 2004 Experts Speak commentary included a series of well-considered perspectives on the potential contributions of the zebrafish to biology and human health. It is fun to look back on those comments. Since that time, the use of morpholino knockdowns as a reverse genetic tool has become commonplace. Insertional mutagenesis with evolving retroviral and now, transposon-based tools, has made it much easier to clone genes found in mutant screens, though the relative strength of ENU mutagenesis to detect phenotypically interesting mutations in essential genes remains. To challenge the ease of morpholino knock-downs in zebrafish, somatic cell knockdowns of mammalian cell culture cells with RNAi has now become commonplace. Broadly-applicable targeted engineering of animal genomes, including zebrafish, looms tantalizingly on the horizon. Before Steve Ekkers arrival as our new editor, to take another snap shot of our moving field, I was asked to help find out what some senior members of the zebrafish community think about whereweare, focusing on four questions (and a grab bagof questions). Most striking was the large increase in discussion of relevance of the zebrafish to humans, which validates past and future NIH support for zebrafish research. The answers we received are presented in alphabetical order by investigator last name, with editorial changes in brackets. May these comments inspire an everclearer vision of how the zebrafish will contribute to our understanding of the living world.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)9 - 23
Number of pages15
JournalZebrafish
Volume5
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2008
Externally publishedYes

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