The zebrafish (Danio rerio) has emerged as a leading model organism for genetics, developmental, and disease research. This small vertebrate possesses many experimental advantages; including large clutch sizes, an abundance of genetic tools, and rapid, external development; and their optical clarity makes zebrafish particularly beneficial for live imaging studies. Furthermore, zebrafish embryos are readily accessible and easily manipulated by microsurgical and optical techniques; including cell transplantation, tissue explantation, laser ablation, and photo-activation. These advantages have been leveraged to great effect in the study of early embryogenesis; facilitating identification of innumerable molecular, cellular, and tissue scale drivers of vertebrate body plan formation. In this collection, we demonstrate techniques to dissect early developmental mechanisms in zebrafish embryos during and prior to gastrulation stages.

Some examples of methods we will seek for this collection include: mosaic injections of individual blastomeres and the yolk syncytial layer, germ-line replacement by transplantation, generation of blastoderm explants, measurements of tissue stiffness/fluidity, quantification of cortical/tissue tension by laser cutting, targeted gene expression by heat shock and/or optogenetic activation, and quantification of signaling activity gradients.