Knowra Zebrafish Zebrafish Zebrafish (Danio rerio) are small freshwater cyprinid fish native to South Asia. Their transparent embryos, rapid development, and tractable genetics make them widely used in biological research.
Zebrafish embryo : The rapidly developing early life stage of Danio rerio, often studied while its tissues remain transparent. Embryos make organ formation and developmental defects visible in living animals.
External fertilization : Reproduction in which eggs and sperm unite outside the female's body. Fertilization outside the body makes embryos easy to collect and observe.
Danio rerio : The scientific name of the small South Asian freshwater fish commonly called zebrafish. This binomial identifies the species used in research and distinguishes it from related danios.
Medaka : A small East Asian freshwater fish, Oryzias latipes, used in developmental and genetic research. Medaka is another fish model, with different reproductive and genetic research advantages.
Zebrafish as a model organism : The use of Danio rerio to investigate biological processes and human disease. This research role explains why the species is bred in laboratories worldwide.
Optical transparency : The passage of visible light through a material with little scattering or absorption. Transparent early embryos allow internal development to be imaged without dissection.
Cyprinidae : A family of freshwater fishes that includes carps, minnows, and danios. Zebrafish belong to this diverse family of ray-finned fishes.
African clawed frog : A fully aquatic frog genus, Xenopus, widely used in developmental and cell biology. Xenopus embryos are larger, while zebrafish offer a bony-fish model and transparent embryos.
Zebrafish genetics : The study and experimental manipulation of genes in Danio rerio. Genetic tools let researchers connect altered genes to observable traits.
Zebrafish genome : The complete DNA sequence of Danio rerio, including its genes and regulatory regions. Its duplicated gene history affects how mutations produce experimental phenotypes.
Show all 21