Why are zebrafish ideal models for development and disease research?

• Zebrafish are vertebrates. Like humans, they have a backbone. This means that they are more closely related to humans than commonly used invertebrate models such as insects and worms (Drosophilia - fruit flies and Caenorhabditis elegans - nematodes) which do not have backbones. Because zebrafish are more closely related to humans, they are more likely to be similar to them in many biological traits than a more distantly related organism. These biological traits would include genes, developmental processes, anatomy, physiology, and behaviors. This is an advantage that invertebrate lab animals do not share with humans. The invertebrates are more appropriately used in comparisons at the cellular or biochemical level of organization where they share many features with humans. • No single model is perfect, but zebrafish have features that make them easy to maintain, manipulate, and observe in the lab. They do well in many environments, and their small size, their ability to be kept ...  more