Let's talk about sex! Research suggests natural zebrafish have WZ/ZZ sex chromosomes as evidenced by a single sex-linked region on chromosome 4. This trait is lost in laboratory fish as sex is determined by multiple genes, with influences from the environment. #ZebrafishFunFacts 🧪
November 8, 2025 at 4:40 PM
Let's talk about sex! Research suggests natural zebrafish have WZ/ZZ sex chromosomes as evidenced by a single sex-linked region on chromosome 4. This trait is lost in laboratory fish as sex is determined by multiple genes, with influences from the environment. #ZebrafishFunFacts 🧪
#ZebrafishFunFacts: Using the discarded slide film from his doctoral research, Professor and amateur artist Michael Barresi created a mosaic of an adult #zebrafish.
Learn about his upcoming art installation on human embryos called 'Using Art to Demystify Science': www.smith.edu/news-events/... 🧪
Learn about his upcoming art installation on human embryos called 'Using Art to Demystify Science': www.smith.edu/news-events/... 🧪
November 7, 2025 at 11:24 AM
#ZebrafishFunFacts: Using the discarded slide film from his doctoral research, Professor and amateur artist Michael Barresi created a mosaic of an adult #zebrafish.
Learn about his upcoming art installation on human embryos called 'Using Art to Demystify Science': www.smith.edu/news-events/... 🧪
Learn about his upcoming art installation on human embryos called 'Using Art to Demystify Science': www.smith.edu/news-events/... 🧪
If you've used @zfinmod.bsky.social, you may have noticed in situ expression data by Thisse et al. This comprehensive dataset was generated by Profs. Christine and (late) Bernard Thisse. In total, 8,400+ genes are described in 29,000+ figures at different stages. #ZebrafishFunFacts #ThisseThursday 🧪
October 25, 2025 at 8:09 AM
If you've used @zfinmod.bsky.social, you may have noticed in situ expression data by Thisse et al. This comprehensive dataset was generated by Profs. Christine and (late) Bernard Thisse. In total, 8,400+ genes are described in 29,000+ figures at different stages. #ZebrafishFunFacts #ThisseThursday 🧪
Don’t forget the umlaut! Did you know the wild-type strain ‘Tu’ came from a pet shop in the German town of Reutlingen, a nearby city of Tübingen? This area was one of the sites of “The Big Screen” co-led by Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard in the 1990s. #ZebrafishFunFacts @maxplanckcampus.bsky.social 🧪
October 18, 2025 at 11:21 AM
Don’t forget the umlaut! Did you know the wild-type strain ‘Tu’ came from a pet shop in the German town of Reutlingen, a nearby city of Tübingen? This area was one of the sites of “The Big Screen” co-led by Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard in the 1990s. #ZebrafishFunFacts @maxplanckcampus.bsky.social 🧪
Published October 25 years ago, “Effective targeted gene ‘knockdown’ in zebrafish” by Nasevicius & Ekker detail use of antisense morpholino-modified oligonucelotides or #morpholinos that inhibit translation. This landmark spurred a revolution in targeted gene knockdown in vivo. #ZebrafishFunFacts 🧪
October 11, 2025 at 11:44 AM
Published October 25 years ago, “Effective targeted gene ‘knockdown’ in zebrafish” by Nasevicius & Ekker detail use of antisense morpholino-modified oligonucelotides or #morpholinos that inhibit translation. This landmark spurred a revolution in targeted gene knockdown in vivo. #ZebrafishFunFacts 🧪
#ZebrafishFunFacts: Cited more than 1500 times, 'The behaviour and ecology of the zebrafish, Danio rerio' by Spence et al. (2007) highlights the special abilities of a small cyprinid found on the Indian subcontinent. A more recent take by Parichy (2015) expands on this in context of evolution. 1/2 🧪
October 9, 2025 at 8:45 AM
#ZebrafishFunFacts: Cited more than 1500 times, 'The behaviour and ecology of the zebrafish, Danio rerio' by Spence et al. (2007) highlights the special abilities of a small cyprinid found on the Indian subcontinent. A more recent take by Parichy (2015) expands on this in context of evolution. 1/2 🧪
#ZebrafishFunFacts: As the most-cited #zebrafish cancer research paper, Amsterdam et al screened hundreds of heterozygous lines for embryonic lethal mutations & found elevated cancer incidence in ribosomal genes. This previously underappreciated finding was published @plosbiology.org 21 years ago. 🧪
October 4, 2025 at 7:23 AM
#ZebrafishFunFacts: As the most-cited #zebrafish cancer research paper, Amsterdam et al screened hundreds of heterozygous lines for embryonic lethal mutations & found elevated cancer incidence in ribosomal genes. This previously underappreciated finding was published @plosbiology.org 21 years ago. 🧪
Did you know the last common ancestor of #zebrafish & humans was ~450 million years ago? A whole genome duplication event (3R) occurred early in the teleost fish phylogeny. Despite this event, zebrafish & humans have about the same number of chromosomes (25 & 23, respectively). #ZebrafishFunFacts 🧪
March 8, 2025 at 5:53 PM
Did you know the last common ancestor of #zebrafish & humans was ~450 million years ago? A whole genome duplication event (3R) occurred early in the teleost fish phylogeny. Despite this event, zebrafish & humans have about the same number of chromosomes (25 & 23, respectively). #ZebrafishFunFacts 🧪
Did you know? Zebrafish are more closely related to fish than to zebras. #ZebrafishFunFacts 🧪
September 30, 2023 at 12:39 PM
Did you know? Zebrafish are more closely related to fish than to zebras. #ZebrafishFunFacts 🧪
The cover of the 1981 issue of Nature references a landmark paper by Streisinger et al., in which the authors described genetic procedures for producing homozygous diploid clones of #zebrafish embryos. The photo depicts homozygous diploid golden (clear) & wild-type clutchmates. #ZebrafishFunFacts 🧪
October 20, 2023 at 7:05 PM
The cover of the 1981 issue of Nature references a landmark paper by Streisinger et al., in which the authors described genetic procedures for producing homozygous diploid clones of #zebrafish embryos. The photo depicts homozygous diploid golden (clear) & wild-type clutchmates. #ZebrafishFunFacts 🧪
Danio derives from the Bengali word “Dhani,” which translates to “of the rice fields.” #ZebrafishFunFacts 🧪
March 15, 2025 at 5:25 PM
Danio derives from the Bengali word “Dhani,” which translates to “of the rice fields.” #ZebrafishFunFacts 🧪
Impress your friends with #ZebrafishFunFacts 🧪
#ZebrafishFunFacts: The geographic range of Danio rerio extends from India to Nepal & Bangladesh. While Hamilton (1822) found them near river Ganges, it's unlikely that fish intentionally ended up there. Instead, they can be found in small pools/streams. For more 👉 elifesciences.org/articles/05635 🧪
November 10, 2024 at 8:19 PM
Impress your friends with #ZebrafishFunFacts 🧪
#ZebrafishFunFacts: Did you know the popular WT strain 'AB' originated from a mating between strain A & strain B purchased by Charline Walker on two separate occasions from a pet shop in Albany, Oregon? This helped transform #zebrafish from household pet to a model of human disease & development. 🧪
November 27, 2024 at 2:56 PM
#ZebrafishFunFacts: Did you know the popular WT strain 'AB' originated from a mating between strain A & strain B purchased by Charline Walker on two separate occasions from a pet shop in Albany, Oregon? This helped transform #zebrafish from household pet to a model of human disease & development. 🧪
The “casper” 👻 zebrafish mutant was developed by selective breeding of two recessive pigment mutants: 1) nacre, a mitfa gene mutant with an absence of pigmented melanocytes; and 2) roy (short for Roy Orbison 😎), a mitochondrial gene mutant that lacks reflective iridophores. #ZebrafishFunFacts 🧪
![Zebrafish pigmentation mutants exhibit defects in specific neural crest derived populations. A wild-type zebrafish (1A) demonstrates alternating patterns of deeply pigmented stripes comprised largely of melanocytes. The interstripe regions, devoid of melanocytes, contain primarily reflective iridophores and yellowish xanthophores. The nacre mutant (1B), due to loss of mitf, shows a loss of embryonic and adult melanocytes, with a compensatory increase in iridophore numbers. The roy orbison mutant (1C), [mutation in the mitochondrial gene mpv17], shows a striking abnormality of eye pigmentation, a severe disruption of melanocyte numbers/patterning, and a complete loss of the iridophore layer. The compound roy;nacre double homozygous mutant (1D), which we have named casper, shows the effect of combined melanocyte and iridophore loss, in which the body of the adult fish is largely transparent due to loss of light absorption and reflection. Credit text and image to White et al. 2008.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:lmndrquzjoynsxgz7rcn5unj/bafkreiahqu6hci7avpwwe4bfiv4xihy3ijriff7tsmuebh23gaegdehuvm@jpeg)
May 10, 2024 at 7:42 PM
The “casper” 👻 zebrafish mutant was developed by selective breeding of two recessive pigment mutants: 1) nacre, a mitfa gene mutant with an absence of pigmented melanocytes; and 2) roy (short for Roy Orbison 😎), a mitochondrial gene mutant that lacks reflective iridophores. #ZebrafishFunFacts 🧪
TIL this #ZebrafishFunFacts
Fact of the day: did you know #zebrafish can regenerate their heart and spinal cords, and also that you can unionize your workplace and organize your neighborhoods to collectively bargain for more rights for you and your peers while building community?
November 6, 2024 at 8:03 AM
TIL this #ZebrafishFunFacts
“The fish is a frog... is a chicken... is a mouse." In the 1980s, Kimmel defined a crucial stage at the onset of gastrulation when the prospective organization of the entire embryonic body plan emerged. It placed #zebrafish in the context of vertebrate developmental biology. #ZebrafishFunFacts 🧪
June 14, 2025 at 3:03 PM
“The fish is a frog... is a chicken... is a mouse." In the 1980s, Kimmel defined a crucial stage at the onset of gastrulation when the prospective organization of the entire embryonic body plan emerged. It placed #zebrafish in the context of vertebrate developmental biology. #ZebrafishFunFacts 🧪
Origins of #zebrafish research can be traced back to the 1930s when Charles Creaser at Wayne State University 🇺🇸began using eggs to show students development of live embryos. He set up methods for rearing zebrafish in lab, but widespread use did not take off for another 30 years. #ZebrafishFunFacts
November 4, 2023 at 3:46 PM
Origins of #zebrafish research can be traced back to the 1930s when Charles Creaser at Wayne State University 🇺🇸began using eggs to show students development of live embryos. He set up methods for rearing zebrafish in lab, but widespread use did not take off for another 30 years. #ZebrafishFunFacts
Danio derives from the Bengali word “Dhani,” which translates to “of the rice fields.” #ZebrafishFunFacts
September 7, 2023 at 6:53 PM
Danio derives from the Bengali word “Dhani,” which translates to “of the rice fields.” #ZebrafishFunFacts
Count your somites! To make a vertebra, it takes 120 minutes in mice, 90 minutes in chicks, 30 minutes in zebrafish, and ~4.5 hours in humans. #ZebrafishFunFacts 🧪
May 16, 2025 at 8:38 AM
Count your somites! To make a vertebra, it takes 120 minutes in mice, 90 minutes in chicks, 30 minutes in zebrafish, and ~4.5 hours in humans. #ZebrafishFunFacts 🧪
On the power of zebrafish: “The fact that these complex functions were decipherable was breathtaking. We could assemble all of these mutations we found in a way that would enable us to start looking at pathways underlying the formation and function of tissues.” Prof. Mark Fishman #ZebrafishFunFacts
October 6, 2023 at 2:15 PM
On the power of zebrafish: “The fact that these complex functions were decipherable was breathtaking. We could assemble all of these mutations we found in a way that would enable us to start looking at pathways underlying the formation and function of tissues.” Prof. Mark Fishman #ZebrafishFunFacts
Impress your friends with #ZebrafishFunFacts 🤓
#ZebrafishFunFacts: Contrary to popular belief, the process of embryo hatching does not signify the end of embryogenesis. According to ‘Stages of Embryonic Development of the Zebrafish’ by Kimmel et al. (1995), the best indicator is when the cleithrum forms (around 84 hours post fertilization). 🧪
January 4, 2025 at 5:22 PM
Impress your friends with #ZebrafishFunFacts 🤓
Foundational work in #zebrafish can be credited to fruitful discussions between Drosophila developmental geneticists such as José Campos-Ortega & Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard. By the late 1980s, multidisciplinary approaches honed in flies were finally applied to a vertebrate. #ZebrafishFunFacts
April 20, 2024 at 2:04 PM
Foundational work in #zebrafish can be credited to fruitful discussions between Drosophila developmental geneticists such as José Campos-Ortega & Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard. By the late 1980s, multidisciplinary approaches honed in flies were finally applied to a vertebrate. #ZebrafishFunFacts
Due to their aquatic environment, #zebrafish are perfect for small molecule drug screens. Many drugs have been repurposed for novel treatments such as COX inhibitors in leukemia & glucocorticoids in long QT syndrome. For more, read this Nature review ($): doi.org/10.1038/nrd4... #ZebrafishFunFacts 🧪
June 6, 2025 at 2:40 PM
Due to their aquatic environment, #zebrafish are perfect for small molecule drug screens. Many drugs have been repurposed for novel treatments such as COX inhibitors in leukemia & glucocorticoids in long QT syndrome. For more, read this Nature review ($): doi.org/10.1038/nrd4... #ZebrafishFunFacts 🧪
#ZebrafishFunFacts: While Kimmel et al. (1995) famously standardized the embryonic development of #zebrafish, Parichy et al. (2009) takes it one step further with characterizing postembryonic zebrafish. They establish Standard Length (SL) as measure of developmental progress rather than age. 🧪
November 18, 2024 at 7:04 PM
#ZebrafishFunFacts: While Kimmel et al. (1995) famously standardized the embryonic development of #zebrafish, Parichy et al. (2009) takes it one step further with characterizing postembryonic zebrafish. They establish Standard Length (SL) as measure of developmental progress rather than age. 🧪
While Kimmel et al. 1995 standardized the embryonic development of #zebrafish, Parichy et al. 2009 takes it one step further with characterizing postembryonic zebrafish in detail. They establish Standard Length (SL) as measure of developmental progress rather than age. #ZebrafishFunFacts 🧪
June 9, 2024 at 2:34 PM
While Kimmel et al. 1995 standardized the embryonic development of #zebrafish, Parichy et al. 2009 takes it one step further with characterizing postembryonic zebrafish in detail. They establish Standard Length (SL) as measure of developmental progress rather than age. #ZebrafishFunFacts 🧪