Injecting Zebrafish with DNA or RNA Constructs Encoding Fluorescent Protein Reporters

INTRODUCTION

In the last two decades, the small tropical freshwater-dwelling zebrafish has emerged as a popular model for developmental biologists. The exceptional optical accessibility of zebrafish embryos coupled with the ability to use genetic tools to indelibly tag cells have been exploited to watch developmental events as they unfold. Moreover, because zebrafish are vertebrates, the knowledge gained through such studies is broadly applicable. Injecting zebrafish with constructs that encode fluorescent proteins is a versatile method for labeling cells and tissues for imaging. The method, described here, can be used to generate transiently or stably transfected organisms showing ubiquitous or mosaic patterns of fluorescence.