PUBLICATION

Calcium imaging in the zebrafish

Authors
Kettunen, P.
ID
ZDB-PUB-120329-10
Date
2012
Source
Advances in experimental medicine and biology   740: (Book)
Registered Authors
Kettunen, Petronella
Keywords
none
MeSH Terms
  • Animals
  • Calcium/analysis*
  • Calcium/metabolism
  • Muscles/chemistry
  • Muscles/metabolism
  • Myocardium/chemistry
  • Myocardium/metabolism
  • Neurons/chemistry
  • Neurons/metabolism
  • Smell
  • Spinal Cord/chemistry
  • Spinal Cord/metabolism
  • Zebrafish/embryology
  • Zebrafish/metabolism*
PubMed
22453983 Full text @ Adv. Exp. Med. Biol.
Abstract
The zebrafish (Danio rerio) has emerged as a new model system during the last three decades. The fact that the zebrafish larva is transparent enables sophisticated in vivo imaging. While being the vertebrate, the reduced complexity of its nervous system and small size make it possible to follow large-scale activity in the whole brain. Its genome is sequenced and many genetic and molecular tools have been developed that simplify the study of gene function. Since the mid 1990s, the embryonic development and neuronal function of the larval, and later, adult zebrafish have been studied using calcium imaging methods. The choice of calcium indicator depends on the desired number of cells to study and cell accessibility. Dextran indicators have been used to label cells in the developing embryo from dye injection into the one-cell stage. Dextrans have also been useful for retrograde labeling of spinal cord neurons and cells in the olfactory system. Acetoxymethyl (AM) esters permit labeling of larger areas of tissue such as the tectum, a region responsible for visual processing. Genetically encoded calcium indicators have been expressed in various tissues by the use of cell-specific promoters. These studies have contributed greatly to our understanding of basic biological principles during development and adulthood, and of the function of disease-related genes in a vertebrate system.
Genes / Markers
Figures
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping