182
W. R. Jackman and Y. Gibert
The popularity of a little aquarium fish as a research model organism was just catching on in the late 1990s; one that would have the potential to help begin to answer
these evolutionary questions.
Development of the Field
Teleost Models of Tooth Development and Evolution
In the 1970s, George Streisinger at the University of Oregon set out to establish a
system to study vertebrate development in a species that would allow straightforward genetics experiments coupled with rapid external development and excellent
visualization properties. The species he decided that best fit these characteristics was
Danio rerio, which to aquarium hobbyists are called zebra danios, but have become
well known in the scientific community simply as zebrafish (Streisinger et al. 1981)
(Fig. 7.3). Zebrafish are easily maintained in breeding condition in simple freshwater
aquaria and have a relatively short generation time. They reach sexual maturity at
about 3 months of age and can produce hundreds of embryos from a single pair of fish
in a given morning when they spawn. However, by the time of Streisinger’s untimely
death in 1986, the use of this species as a model for vertebrate development hadn’t
really caught on outside of a few early adopters.
Fig. 7.3 Zebrafish and their teeth. A Adult zebrafish with pharyngeal location of teeth indicated
(arrow). B Mature adult teeth attached to the CB5 bone from the left side. C Ventral view of a larval
zebrafish with labeled ventral cartilages (blue) and teeth (red). D Close-up of tooth germs at three
different stages relatively early in development showing ameloblasts (light brown), odontoblasts
(blue), and mineralization (red)
W. R. Jackman and Y. Gibert
The popularity of a little aquarium fish as a research model organism was just catching on in the late 1990s; one that would have the potential to help begin to answer
these evolutionary questions.
Development of the Field
Teleost Models of Tooth Development and Evolution
In the 1970s, George Streisinger at the University of Oregon set out to establish a
system to study vertebrate development in a species that would allow straightforward genetics experiments coupled with rapid external development and excellent
visualization properties. The species he decided that best fit these characteristics was
Danio rerio, which to aquarium hobbyists are called zebra danios, but have become
well known in the scientific community simply as zebrafish (Streisinger et al. 1981)
(Fig. 7.3). Zebrafish are easily maintained in breeding condition in simple freshwater
aquaria and have a relatively short generation time. They reach sexual maturity at
about 3 months of age and can produce hundreds of embryos from a single pair of fish
in a given morning when they spawn. However, by the time of Streisinger’s untimely
death in 1986, the use of this species as a model for vertebrate development hadn’t
really caught on outside of a few early adopters.
Fig. 7.3 Zebrafish and their teeth. A Adult zebrafish with pharyngeal location of teeth indicated
(arrow). B Mature adult teeth attached to the CB5 bone from the left side. C Ventral view of a larval
zebrafish with labeled ventral cartilages (blue) and teeth (red). D Close-up of tooth germs at three
different stages relatively early in development showing ameloblasts (light brown), odontoblasts
(blue), and mineralization (red)