ABSTRACT
114The genus Danio (zebrafish) includes up to 84 small freshwater species that originate from the Indian subcontinent and neighboring countries. In the past decades, zebrafish have become one of the most frequently used organisms in many aspects of biomedical research including chemical screens for drug development and as a model organism for research on a variety of human diseases. The Zebrafish International Resource Center (ZIRC) has expanded from a few lines (in 1998) to more than 11,000 lines (40,300 alleles) as of 2018. The collection contains point mutations induced by ethyl nitrosourea, viral insertion mutants, y-ray induced chromosomal rearrangements, CRISPER/cas9 edited strains, transgenic lines, enhancer traps, and wild-type lines. In addition to live and frozen stocks of wild-type, mutant, and transgenic lines, ZIRC provides antibodies, gene probes, live feed paramecia cultures, and many protocols for genotyping and husbandry. Resources are shipped to hundreds of laboratories in more than 40 countries each year. Active research at ZIRC has identified and characterized the most common diseases that affect laboratory stocks of zebrafish, and in addition to research publications, ZIRC maintains an up-to-date online manual for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases affecting zebrafish. ZIRC also provides pathology and consultation services, including diagnostic services and health status testing for zebrafish laboratories around the world.
