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Headwaters of the zebrafish — emergence of a new model vertebrate

Abstract

The understanding of vertebrate development has advanced considerably in recent years, primarily due to the study of a few model organisms. The zebrafish, the newest of these models, has risen to prominence because both genetic and experimental embryological methods can be easily applied to this animal. The combination of approaches has proven powerful, yielding insights into the formation and function of individual tissues, organ systems and neural networks, and into human disease mechanisms. Here, we provide a personal perspective on the history of zebrafish research, from the assembly of the first genetic and embryological tools through to sequencing of the genome.

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Figure 1: Principal architects of zebrafish developmental genetics.
Figure 2: The debut publication.
Figure 3: Determining cell autonomy of gene function.
Figure 4: Results of the the 'Big Screen' are announced.

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Acknowledgements

Many colleagues have been extremely generous with their time, contributing to this project by supplying us with written and verbal accounts of their perspectives on the origin of the zebrafish field. In particular, we thank T. Alber, J. Campos-Ortega, M. Capecchi, C. Kimmel, K. G. Lark, C. Nüsslein-Volhard, F. Stahl, L. Streisinger, P. von Hippel, C. Walker and E. Wilson for their insights and patience, and the University of Oregon Division of Archives for its assistance. D.J.G. and J.S.E. are funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health.

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Correspondence to David Jonah Grunwald.

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DATABASES

LocusLink

Brachyury

ZFIN

no tail

spadetail

FURTHER INFORMATION

ZFIN

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Grunwald, D., Eisen, J. Headwaters of the zebrafish — emergence of a new model vertebrate. Nat Rev Genet 3, 717–724 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrg892

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