A MOLECULAR METHOD FOR ASSESSING THE EFFECTS OF POTENTIAL CONTAMINANTS ON THE RATE OF ZEBRAFISH (DANIO RERIO) DEVELOPMENT

摘要

Monitoring expression of the developmentally regulated genes shh, sox2, and tnntl by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) allows determination of the rate of embryogenesis in zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos without direct visual observation. The utility of combining this approach and morphological methods during toxicity studies was demonstrated with embryos developing at either 28.5 ℃ or 24.5 ℃ and with embryos exposed to sublethal doses of silver nanoparticles.