Briefings in Functional Genomics and Proteomics Advance Access originally published online on October 4, 2008
Briefings in Functional Genomics and Proteomics 2008 7(6):474-482; doi:10.1093/bfgp/eln039
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The neurogenetic frontier—lessons from misbehaving zebrafish
Corresponding author. Harold A. Burgess, Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6058, USA. Tel: +1 215 898 8386; Fax: +1 215 898 9871; E-mail: burgessh{at}mail.med.upenn.edu
One of the central questions in neuroscience is how refined patterns of connectivity in the brain generate and monitor behavior. Genetic mutations can influence neural circuits by disrupting differentiation or maintenance of component neuronal cells or by altering functional patterns of nervous system connectivity. Mutagenesis screens therefore have the potential to reveal not only the molecular underpinnings of brain development and function, but to illuminate the cellular basis of behavior. Practical considerations make the zebrafish an organism of choice for undertaking forward genetic analysis of behavior. The powerful array of experimental tools at the disposal of the zebrafish researcher makes it possible to link molecular function to neuronal properties that underlie behavior. This review focuses on specific challenges to isolating and analyzing behavioral mutants in zebrafish.
Keywords: zebrafish, behavior, mutagenesis