Zebrafish Research is has a long story to tell. Mysterious eyes of Zebrafish are full of surprises. Once mesmerized, it will turn you into a passionate researcher. We will however, tell you the Indian part. Zebrafish is a widely used model organism to for biological research in the fields of molecular biology, developmental biology, genetics etc. the list is endless. For the purpose of ease of understanding, we have categorized Zebrafish Research into BASIC RESEARCH & ADVANCED RESEARCH.
By basic research in Zebrafish we mean to say, all short term studies. Short term studies (STS) are those that evoke interest in zebrafish model based research in Modern Biology. Encouraging students to pursue Zebrafish Model Based research at their institutes or affiliated institutions will have lasting impression on Research & Development. Basic research via Zebrafish model is core area of thrust for ZEBFIN. 
Under Zeb Research Tab you will see separate pages to detailed information on Current Scenario of Zebrafish Research in India and further reading material on BASIC and ADVANCE RESESARCH.

Zebrafish model can be used to mimic diversity of human diseases and conditions, including cancer, cardiovascular diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, and inflammation. Its genome has been fully sequenced, and it will allow researchers to understand how human genes work and how genetic variants cause disease in ways that cannot be conducted in humans or other organisms. The natural distribution of zebrafish (Danio rerio) in India ranges from streams or rivers of the western Ghats of Indian peninsula to those of the western and north eastern Himalayas.

They are most commonly associated with habitats of low flow and with a handy substrate in secondary and tertiary channels linked with the main channel of a stream/river or habitats adjacent to wetlands and paddy fields. Wild zebrafish display wide range of behaviour and are relatively rare. They gather in small shoals (4–12 fishes) and inhabit in slowly flowing water in central India.

Zebrafish is valuable for study due to four reasons as follows:

(1) Zebrafish larvae are transparent. The eggs hatch rapidly and the embryos remain visible up to the early larval stage. Therefore, cells, organs, and tissues are readily visualized in vivo and can be monitored in real time.

(2) Zebrafish is very productive due to the high fecundity, and embryo-genesis is very rapid. The zebrafish embryos are often used in fundamental developmental studies, including cell fate de-termination, organogenesis, and neuronal development. Under normal conditions, females spawn up to 300 eggs per week which hatch rapidly. This is an advantage for researchers to study large number of meiosis for positional cloning purposes. The low relative cost of maintaining a zebrafish facility compared to a mammal facility is also beneficial.

(3) The zebrafish is appropriate for molecular and genetic analysis through rapid determination of temporal and spatial gene expression, as well as examination of specific gene function by developing transgenic lines, introducing large-scale mutagenesis or using antisense gene knockdown.

(4) Zebrafish embryos develop most of the major organ systems, including the cardiovascular, nervous, and digestive systems, in less than a week. The transparent embryos develop externally, which allow the researcher to directly observe morphological defects. Specific genes can be knocked down transiently by the injection of morpholino anti senseoligomers into the zebrafish embryos. Interestingly, the zebrafish allows for in vivo and ex vivo imaging with excellent quality, using powerful techniques, such as fluorescent confocal microscopy or bright-field live video microscopy.

In addition, the research community is sustained by an out-standing curated database of genetic, genomic, and developmental information, the Zebrafish Model Organism Database.