Small Fish Big Feet — Fecund, Limpid and Human.

Three words are all it takes to describe Zebrafish. It’s a small fish with big achievements. It is almost human. It shares 70% of the genetic structure with humans. Limpid – with high optical clarity. It facilitates and opens up innumerable opportunities for observation and research. Fecundity or reproducibility of zebrafish. This small fish makes a huge impact on biological research. The fields of molecular biology, developmental biology, genetics, oncology, and neurobiology use Zebrafish for research.

Danio rerio or Zebrafish is a versatile model organism. It has been used in biomedical research for several decades to study a wide range of biological phenomena. Technical advantages over other vertebrate models make it the preferred choice today. Readily available, hardy, easy, and inexpensive to maintain in the laboratory. They have a short life cycle. Excellent fecundity. Due to its optical clarity and reproducible capabilities, it has become one of the predominant models of human genetic diseases.

Zebrafish research has made rapid strides in the United States and Europe. In India, the field is in a nascent stage and many researchers still remain unaware of the full research potential of this small fish. The zebrafish model system was introduced into India in the early 2000s. More than 45 government institutions. 15 private institutions and 5 private labs today use Zebrafish Model for Research. As many as 350 scientific referred articles have been published by Indian researchers. This desk research gives an overview of the current state of research using the zebrafish model in India. This research doesn’t account for pharmaceutical R&D using zebrafish research. Since most pharmaceutical companies and their research & development efforts are highly confidential, we have excluded them. With the aim of promoting the wider utilization of zebrafish for basic and high-level biological studies at educational institutions, we present to you our findings.