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Comparison of Baseline Behavior and the Developmental Effects of Diazepam on Locomotor Activity in 3 Strains of Larval Zebrafish (Danio rerio)
Citation:
Hedge, J., K. Jarema, D. Hunter, AND S. Padilla. Comparison of Baseline Behavior and the Developmental Effects of Diazepam on Locomotor Activity in 3 Strains of Larval Zebrafish (Danio rerio). Aquaculture America 2018, Las Vegas, NV, February 19 - 22, 2018.
Impact/Purpose:
Choice of strain is an important consideration in zebrafish husbandry and research. In the scientific literature there is concern that zebrafish strains may behave and respond differently to toxicants. A few studies have compared the baseline behavior of various strains of larval zebrafish (Danio rerio), but, to our knowledge, there are no studies on strain-specific responses to developmental neurotoxicants (with the exception of ethanol). The present group of experiments examines both the baseline behavior and the effects of developmental exposure to the anxiolytic compound Diazepam (DIA), in three commonly-used zebrafish strains: AB (AB), Tübingen (TU) and our in-house wild type, out-bred strain (Z).
Description:
Choice of strain is an important consideration in zebrafish husbandry and research. In the scientific literature there is concern that zebrafish strains may behave and respond differently to toxicants. A few studies have compared the baseline behavior of various strains of larval zebrafish (Danio rerio), but, to our knowledge, there are no studies on strain-specific responses to developmental neurotoxicants (with the exception of ethanol). The present group of experiments examines both the baseline behavior and the effects of developmental exposure to the anxiolytic compound Diazepam (DIA), in three commonly-used zebrafish strains: AB (AB), Tübingen (TU) and our in-house wild type, out-bred strain (Z). AB and TU embryos were obtained from Zebrafish International Resource Center (Eugene, OR) and reared onsite for breeding stock with the offspring used for testing along with same age Z breeding stock. On day 0, zebrafish embryos of each strain were plated in one of three 96-well plates (n=24-36/strain/plate) for a total of 96/strain across the 3 plates (all strains were represented on each plate). Fish were dosed daily with DIA (0, 1, 3 or 10 uM final concentration) on days 0-4 post fertilization (dpf) and changed to buffer without DIA on days 5 and 6 (depuration). At 6 dpf locomotor activity was assessed in a 100 minute light:dark testing paradigm to determine if developmental DIA exposure had affected brain development. In general, TU controls had lower locomotor activity in the dark period compared to the AB or Z strain. Developmental DIA treatment depressed locomotor activity in all three strains, and there was no significant difference in the dose-related pattern of hypoactivity among the 3 strains. These data indicate that different strains of larval zebrafish do show locomotor behavior differences but do not show different behavioral responses to developmental DIA exposure. This abstract does not necessarily reflect official USEPA policy.