PUBLICATION

Morphometric analysis and neuroanatomical mapping of the zebrafish brain

Authors
Gupta, T., Marquart, G.D., Horstick, E.J., Tabor, K.M., Pajevic, S., Burgess, H.A.
ID
ZDB-PUB-180625-2
Date
2018
Source
Methods (San Diego, Calif.)   150: 49-62 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Burgess, Harold, Gupta, Tripti, Horstick, Eric, Marquart, Gregory, Tabor, Kathryn
Keywords
Deformation-field analysis, Neural development, Neuroanatomy, Voxel-based morphometry, Zebrafish
MeSH Terms
  • Animals
  • Animals, Genetically Modified
  • Autistic Disorder/chemically induced
  • Autistic Disorder/genetics
  • Behavior, Animal/drug effects
  • Behavior, Animal/physiology
  • Brain/anatomy & histology
  • Brain/diagnostic imaging*
  • Brain/drug effects
  • Brain/physiology
  • Brain Mapping/instrumentation
  • Brain Mapping/methods*
  • Computer Simulation
  • DNA-Binding Proteins/genetics
  • Disease Models, Animal
  • Embryo, Nonmammalian
  • Gene Knockdown Techniques
  • Humans
  • Intravital Microscopy/instrumentation
  • Intravital Microscopy/methods*
  • Microscopy, Confocal/instrumentation
  • Microscopy, Confocal/methods
  • Morpholinos/genetics
  • Neurogenesis/drug effects
  • Neurogenesis/physiology
  • Valproic Acid/toxicity
  • Zebrafish/anatomy & histology
  • Zebrafish/physiology*
  • Zebrafish Proteins/genetics
PubMed
29936090 Full text @ Methods
Abstract
Large-scale genomic studies have recently identified genetic variants causative for major neurodevelopmental disorders, such as intellectual disability and autism. However, determining how underlying developmental processes are affected by these mutations remains a significant challenge in the field. Zebrafish is an established model system in developmental neurogenetics that may be useful in uncovering the mechanisms of these mutations. Here we describe the use of voxel-intensity, deformation field, and volume-based morphometric techniques for the systematic and unbiased analysis of gene knock-down and environmental exposure-induced phenotypes in zebrafish. We first present a computational method for brain segmentation based on transgene expression patterns to create a comprehensive neuroanatomical map. This map allowed us to disclose statistically significant changes in brain microstructure and composition in neurodevelopmental models. We demonstrate the effectiveness of morphometric techniques in measuring changes in the relative size of neuroanatomical subdivisions in atoh7 morphant larvae and in identifying phenotypes in larvae treated with valproic acid, a chemical demonstrated to increase the risk of autism in humans. These tools enable rigorous evaluation of the effects of gene mutations and environmental exposures on neural development, providing an entry point for cellular and molecular analysis of basic developmental processes as well as neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders.
Genes / Markers
Figures
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping