Morris A C, Fadool J M
Department of Biological Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306-4340, USA.
Physiol Behav. 2005 Oct 15;86(3):306-13. doi: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2005.08.020. Epub 2005 Sep 29.
The zebrafish has rapidly become a favored model vertebrate organism, well suited for studies of developmental processes using large-scale genetic screens. In particular, zebrafish morphological and behavioral genetic screens have led to the identification of genes important for development of the retinal photoreceptors. This may help clarify the genetic mechanisms underlying human photoreceptor development and dysfunction in retinal diseases. In this review, we present the advantages of zebrafish as a vertebrate model organism, summarize retinal and photoreceptor cell development in zebrafish, with emphasis on the rod photoreceptors, and describe zebrafish visual behaviors that can be used for genetic screens. We then describe some of the photoreceptor cell mutants that have been isolated in morphological and behavioral screens and discuss the limitations of current screening methods for uncovering mutations that specifically affect rod function. Finally, we present some alternative strategies to target the rod developmental pathway in zebrafish.
斑马鱼已迅速成为一种备受青睐的模式脊椎动物，非常适合用于通过大规模基因筛选来研究发育过程。特别是，斑马鱼的形态学和行为学基因筛选已导致鉴定出对视网膜光感受器发育重要的基因。这可能有助于阐明人类光感受器发育以及视网膜疾病中功能障碍背后的遗传机制。在本综述中，我们阐述了斑马鱼作为脊椎动物模式生物的优势，总结了斑马鱼视网膜和光感受器细胞的发育情况，重点是视杆光感受器，并描述了可用于基因筛选的斑马鱼视觉行为。然后，我们描述了在形态学和行为学筛选中分离出的一些光感受器细胞突变体，并讨论了当前用于发现特异性影响视杆功能突变的筛选方法的局限性。最后，我们提出了一些针对斑马鱼视杆发育途径的替代策略。
