Now that the human and mouse genomes have been decoded, United Kingdom researchers have announced plans to decode the genome of the zebrafish in a three-year projected funded by the Wellcome Trust medical research charity.
Although mice and monkeys get the lion’s share of press when it comes to medical research with animals, the zebrafish has been an important animal in laboratory studies for a long time. The zebrafish’s blood, kidney, and vision systems are very similar to those in human beings and the species has been used as a model in those areas.
The decoding of the zebrafish genome will help researchers better understand what specific human genes do. The human genome is of limited usefulness by itself, but when scientists can compare the human genome to the genome of mice, zebrafish and others, they will be able to get a very good idea of exactly how the genes interact and how things like inherited diseases arise.
Some zebrafish, for example, suffer from genetic blood disorders that are very similar to human genetic blood disorders. By comparing
the genomes, scientists might get a better understanding of what causes these genetic diseases and how they might be treated.
Currently efforts are underway to decode the genome of dogs and chickens, and some scientists are calling for researchers to focus on decoding the genome of great apes, which are the closest living genetic relatives to human beings.
Source:
Zebrafish genome next. The BBC, November 21, 2000.