You are here:
Behavorial Screens for Detecting Developmental Neurotoxicity in Larval Zebrafish
Citation:
PADILLA, S. J. Behavorial Screens for Detecting Developmental Neurotoxicity in Larval Zebrafish. Presented at 49th Society of Toxicology (SOT) Annual meeting & TOX EXPO, Baltimore, MD, March 07 - 11, 2010.
Impact/Purpose:
As part of the EPA's effort to develop an in vivo, vertebrate screen for toxic chemicals, we have characterized basic behaviors of 6-day post-fertilization (dpf) zebrafish (Danio rerio) larvae in a convenient, reproducible method for rapidly assessing abnormal nervous system function in larval zebrafish.
Description:
As part of the EPA's effort to develop an in vivo, vertebrate screen for toxic chemicals, we have characterized basic behaviors of 6-day post-fertilization (dpf) zebrafish (Danio rerio) larvae in a microtiter plate format. Our main goal is to develop a convenient, reproducible method for rapidly assessing abnormal nervous system function in larval zebrafish. Larvae were individually reared and tested in 96-well microtiter plates. A video tracking system and attendant software were used to record locomotor activity (measured as total distance traveled) under varying of light (visible light) and dark (infrared light) conditions. Control larvae exposed to neuroactive drugs showed locomotor changes similar to those obtained in higher vertebrates. Zebrafish exposed (05 dpf) to prototypic neurotoxic compounds showed altered activity at 6 dpf that were dose-related, whereas developmental exposure to non-neurotoxic compounds did not alter activity. We conclude that even very young zebrafish possess a rich behavioral repertoire, especially when studied for relatively long periods of time (up to 1 hour), and under varying environmental conditions. Furthermore, activity is perturbed by both acute drug exposure and developmental exposure to neurotoxic compounds. This is an abstract of a proposed presentation and does not reflect Agency policy.