Breeding transgenic zebrafish for studies of retina

在脊椎动物中，视网膜神经回路处理图像，从视觉环境中提取有关颜色、形状、大小和运动的信息。虽然猫、老鼠、老鼠和兔子等实验动物提供了哺乳动物夜间视觉的杰出模型，但斑马鱼，像人类和旧世界灵长类动物一样，在白天的颜色视觉方面表现出色。斑马鱼是一种四色视动物，有四种视锥光感受器类型，对红色、绿色、蓝色和紫外线波长有选择性地敏感。通过研究斑马鱼额外的特殊目的基因，可以帮助研究处理丰富颜色信息的神经回路。在这些转基因鱼中，在荧光显微镜下可以看到视网膜上选定的神经类型，从而可以很容易地识别这些细胞。这些特殊的转基因细胞系用于视网膜的实验研究，它们有助于确定视网膜神经元之间图像处理的电路连接。

In vertebrate animals, retinal neural circuits process images, extracting information about color, shape size and movement from visual surroundings. While laboratory animals such as cat, rat, mouse and rabbit provide outstanding models of nocturnal vision in mammals, zebrafish, like humans and old-world primates, are remarkable for diurnal color vision. Zebrafish is a tetrachromat with 4 cone photoreceptor types selectively sensitive to red, green, blue and ultraviolet wavelengths. Studies of the neural circuitry through which this rich color information is processed can be aided through studies of zebrafish with additional special-purpose genes. In these transgenic fish, selected neural types in retina can be visualized in the fluorescent microscope, so that these cells can be easily recognized. These special transgenic lines are used in experimental studies of the retina, where they aid in the ability to determine circuitry connections for image processing among retinal neurons. The zebrafish lines generated and maintained under this protocol were created in other laboratories, where extra genes were added to, or deleted from, the DNA. In some cases new strains will be created by cross breeding. Adult fish produced in this research program will be studied according to goals and objectives described in another research program (NS002631-26). This describes the use of microelectrodes both to record electrical signals from retinal neurons, and to label them with fluorescent dyes. The combined markers consisting of genetic and microelectrode labels will aid in discerning circuitry connections among retinal neurons, and provide more information about the neural pathways through which images are processed. In the past year the activities of this program have produced 2300 larvae, housed 8 primary strains and 2 double transgenic strains. Twenty seven fish have been imported from outside laboratories, and 120 fish have been exported for use in other NIH research programs.