Zebrafish: a genetic approach in studying hematopoiesis

The zebrafish (Danio rerio) has emerged in recent years as an exciting anim al model system for studying vertebrate organ development and, in particula r, the development of the hematopoietic system. The combined advantages of developmental biology and genetic screens for mutations in zebrafish have p rovided insights into early events in hematopoiesis and identified several genes required for normal blood development in vertebrates. As a result of the large-scale mutagenesis screens for developmental mutants, several zebr afish mutants with defects in blood development have been recovered. This r eview discusses how these blood mutations in zebrafish have given new persp ectives on hematopoietic development. (C) 2000 Lippincott Williams & Wilkin s, Inc.