Use of zebrafish (Danio rerio) as a model for research in toxicological studies

Abstract

Danio rerio, commonly known as zebrafish, is a freshwater aquarium fish and is native to parts of South Asia. It is considered an important organism for analyzing the noxious effects of toxicants and pollutants of the environment. In terms of the molecular signaling pathway, molecular properties, organ functions and structures, and neurogenesis, zebrafish are similar to certain other higher-order vertebrates. The 3Rs, refinement,reduction, and replacement in researchhavegradually evolved with time. The accumulation of toxicants in the environment and the human health conditions from exposure to toxicants present in the environment is a serious concern, and zebrafish serves as an excellent model to research such effects. The three Rs are met by zebrafish, larvae can also be used to discover harmful medication compounds, permitting safer compounds to be explored in model organisms and it could also be used to substitute certain toxicological testing.Also, because embryos are fertilized outside and are visible during the initial days of life, the early larval model of zebrafish enables flexibility to animal research study, subsequently reducing the number of animals employed in experiments.For various experimentation studies, the larva of the zebrafish is proved to be a useful model for the system.Thus, being a good test system, zebrafish are used in environmental health and safety studies.This review focuses on the toxicological studiesin zebrafish and outlines the toxicological studies done on zebrafish with arsenic and 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) as well as microplastic toxicity.