AGAROSE-EMBEDDED TISSUE ARRAYS FOR HISTOLOGIC AND GENETIC-ANALYSIS

To facilitate the histologic analysis of large numbers of 7-day-old ze brafish (Danio rerio), a method has been developed to process them in agarose-embedded arrays. Using thin tissue sections, the morphology of cells and tissues can be examined microscopically to investigate a va riety of biologic processes. Because of their small size, precise arra ngement of the larvae is necessary to section them simultaneously. A t echnique was designed to embed groups of zebrafish larvae in a single plane in agarose before sectioning. Stained tissue sections of thousan ds of larvae can be examined efficiently using this embedding method. In addition to histologic analysis, PCR-based genotypic analysis of DN A from individual larval sections is also possible. This technique can be modified to accommodate any study that requires the histologic exa mination of many pieces of tissue.