Fish
Fish are an important animal species for research on the environment, environmental toxins, and even biomedical research. When fish can replace other laboratory animals, this is often a cost-effective model.
Environmental researchers study, e.g. what happens to fish exposed to drugs or chemicals in the water.
The three-spined stickleback is one of the fish species used in research. In the wild it lives in fresh and salt water in Sweden. It is resilient and has the same breeding behaviour in aquariums as it does in natural waterways. Hence, it is an appropriate model animal.
The Zebra fish is another fish species used increasingly in medical research. It is a small, tropical, fresh water fish that is easy to breed and manage. Zebra fish can be used to study normal development and diseases in vertebrates. Much of its genome has been mapped, providing good opportunities for genetic trials.
Zebra fish are also appropriate for studies in developmental biology, i.e. how embryos develop into adults. For this type of research it is an advantage that embryo of the Zebra fish develops outside of the female´s body, and that the eggs are transparent.
The three-spined stickleback is one of the fish species used in research. In the wild it lives in fresh and salt water in Sweden. It is resilient and has the same breeding behaviour in aquariums as it does in natural waterways. Hence, it is an appropriate model animal.
The Zebra fish is another fish species used increasingly in medical research. It is a small, tropical, fresh water fish that is easy to breed and manage. Zebra fish can be used to study normal development and diseases in vertebrates. Much of its genome has been mapped, providing good opportunities for genetic trials.
Zebra fish are also appropriate for studies in developmental biology, i.e. how embryos develop into adults. For this type of research it is an advantage that embryo of the Zebra fish develops outside of the female´s body, and that the eggs are transparent.
Text: Karin Nordin
References
- John Bräutigam, veterinarian, Swedish Board of Agriculture
- Helena Elofsson, Fil. Dr. Zoology, Swedish Board of Agriculture
- Anne Halldén Waldemarson, University veterinarian at Karolinska Institutet
- Torgny Jeneskog, University veterinarian at Umeå university
- Karl-Gustav Jacobsson, University veterinarian at Uppsala university
Responsible for content: Mats Ulfendahl, Secretary General of Medicine and health, Swedish Research Council.
Editor: Peter Tillhammar, Swedish Research Council. Contact: Send email to the editorial staff.
Editor: Peter Tillhammar, Swedish Research Council. Contact: Send email to the editorial staff.
