Zebrafish: a model system for the study of human disease

The zebrafish (Danio rerio) is a powerful model organism for the study of v ertebrate biology, being well suited to both developmental and genetic anal ysis. Large-scale genetic screens have identified hundreds of mutant phenot ypes, many of which resemble human clinical disorders. The creation of crit ical genetic reagents, coupled with the rapid progress of the zebrafish gen ome initiative directed by the National Institutes of Health, are bringing this model system to its full potential for the study of vertebrate biology , physiology and human disease.