Characterization of a mutant samhd1 zebrafish model implicates dysregulation of cholesterol biosynthesis in Aicardi-Goutières syndrome

In Search of a Target Gene for a Desirable Phenotype in Aquaculture: Genome Editing of Cyprinidae and Salmonidae Species

Aquaculture supplies the world food market with a significant amount of valuable protein. Highly productive aquaculture fishes can be derived by utilizing genome-editing methods, and the main problem is to choose a target gene to obtain the desirable phenotype. This paper presents a review of the studies of genome editing for genes controlling body development, growth, pigmentation and sex determination in five key aquaculture Salmonidae and Cyprinidae species, such as rainbow trout (Onchorhynchus mykiss), Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), common carp (Cyprinus carpio), goldfish (Carassius auratus), Gibel carp (Carassius gibelio) and the model fish zebrafish (Danio rerio). Among the genes studied, the most applicable for aquaculture are mstnba, pomc, and acvr2, the knockout of which leads to enhanced muscle growth; runx2b, mutants of which do not form bones in myoseptae; lepr, whose lack of function makes fish fast-growing; fads2, Δ6abc/5Mt, and Δ6bcMt, affecting the composition of fatty acids in fish meat; dnd mettl3, and wnt4a, mutants of which are sterile; and disease-susceptibility genes prmt7, gab3, gcJAM-A, and cxcr3.2. Schemes for obtaining common carp populations consisting of only large females are promising for use in aquaculture. The immobilized and uncolored zebrafish line is of interest for laboratory use.

Progress in leukodystrophies with zebrafish

Inherited leukodystrophies are genetic disorders characterized by abnormal white matter in the central nervous system. Although individually rare, there are more than 400 distinct types of leukodystrophies with a cumulative incidence of 1 in 4500 live births. The pathophysiology of most leukodystrophies is poorly understood, there are treatments for only a few, and there is significant morbidity and mortality, suggesting a critical need for improvements in this field. A variety of animal, cell, and induced pluripotent stem cell-derived models have been developed for leukodystrophies, but with significant limitations in all models. Many leukodystrophies lack animal models, and extant models often show no or mixed recapitulation of key phenotypes. Zebrafish (Danio rerio) have become increasingly used as disease models for studying leukodystrophies due to their early onset of disease phenotypes and conservation of molecular and neurobiological mechanisms. Here, we focus on reviewing new zebrafish disease models for leukodystrophy or models with recent progress. This includes discussion of leukodystrophy with vanishing white matter disease, X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy, Zellweger spectrum disorders and peroxisomal disorders, PSAP deficiency, metachromatic leukodystrophy, Krabbe disease, hypomyelinating leukodystrophy-8/4H leukodystrophy, Aicardi-Goutières syndrome, RNASET2-deficient cystic leukoencephalopathy, hereditary diffuse leukoencephalopathy with spheroids-1 (CSF1R-related leukoencephalopathy), and ultra-rare leukodystrophies. Zebrafish models offer important potentials for the leukodystrophy field, including testing of new variants in known genes; establishing causation of newly discovered genes; and early lead compound identification for therapies. There are also unrealized opportunities to use humanized zebrafish models which have been sparsely explored.