The zebrafish heart provides a useful vertebrate cardiovascular model with outstanding advantages, including genetic manipulatability, optical accessibility and rapid development. In addition, an emerging topic in cardiotoxicity assay and drug discovery is its use in phenotype-based chemical screen. Here, we report a technique that allows non-invasive voltage mapping in beating heart using a genetically encoded probe for transmembrane potential. Application of anti-allergy compound, astemizole, resulted in aberrant propagation of excitation, which accounted for the lack of ventricular contraction. This optical method will provide new opportunities in broad areas of physiological, developmental, and pharmacological cardiovascular research.

• Genes / Markers (1)
• Mutations and Transgenics (1)
• Fish (1)