Zebrafish: genetic and embryological methods in a transparent vertebrate embryo.

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses several facets of zebrafish relevant to the genetic and cellular study of cardiac and skeletal muscle, focusing on working strategies and methodologies under active investigation. The powers of the zebrafish are its embryological accessibility combined with tractable genetics. It is amenable to large-scale mutagenesis of the germ line and to visual screening for defects. Fertilization is external and the embryo is nearly transparent, so cells are accessible for injection or transplantation, and organs can be directly visualized. The cells of the blastula or gastrula can be transplanted and can be incorporated into new hosts, permitting determination of whether mutations affect specific cells in a cell-autonomous manner. For genetics, it is preferable to begin mutagenesis with lines that lack lethal or other deleterious mutations. Inbreeding and heat shock together have been utilized to generate lethal-free strains with minimal heterozygosity, although with concomitant loss of hybrid vigor.