A Review of Zebrafish as an Alternative Animal Model and Its Benefits over Other Animal Models in Various Disease Conditions

Abstract

The zebrafish (Danio rerio) model has been exponentially adopted because it is a small tropical freshwater fish with crucial genetic, anatomical, and physiological homology with humans. Therefore, zebrafish constitute an excellent experimental model for behavioral, genetic, and toxicological studies that unravel the mechanisms of various human diseases. The zebrafish is a vertebrate, as it shares many organs with humans, including the blood, muscles, kidneys, and eyes. Genome organization and the pathways involved in controlling signal transduction appear to be highly conserved between zebrafish and humans, and therefore zebrafish may be used for modeling human diseases. The zebrafish genome has been sequenced, allowing scientists to study the functions of more than 14,000 genes by inducing mutations in those genes. Zebrafish have a special ability to repair their heart muscle, and scientists are attempting to determine the specific factors involved in this process to help people with heart problems. This review focuses on the use of zebrafish as a potential alternative model and its advantages over other animal models for conducting biomedical research on various human disease conditions.