Zebrafish : Part Of China Shenzhou-18 Mission
Chinese astronauts successfully reared four zebrafish in space which was part of the Shenzhou-18 mission.
- Zebrafish is a small (2-3 cm long) freshwater fish found in tropical and subtropical regions.
- The vertebrate takes its name from the horizontal blue stripes running the length of its body.
- It is native to South Asia’s Indo-Gangetic plains, where they are mostly found in the paddy fields and even in stagnant water and streams.
- It attracts developmental biologists due to its adequate regeneration capacity of almost all its organs, including the brain, heart, eye, and spinal cord.
- It possesses several advantages over rodent models in the study of vertebrate development and disease.
- These include hundreds of embryos in a single clutch and optical clarity of the developing embryo (have transparent larvae and embryos), which allows live imaging at the organism level.
- They are easily bred in large numbers with a relatively low maintenance cost.
- Approximately 70 percent of zebrafish genes are also present in a similar form in humans.
- Over 80 percent of genes that are known to trigger disease in humans are also present in this fish.
- Conservation status IUCN: Least concerned.
