| Projecttitle | Development of an embryotoxicity test with zebrafish eggs and genomics |
|---|---|
| Investigators | S. Hermsen, MSc, dr. L. van der Ven, mr. E. van den Brandhof, prof. dr. A. Piersma |
| Type of project | PhD project |
| Project leader | Prof. dr. A. Piersma |
| Co-operation | National Toxicogenomics Center and STW ongoing projects, including 6 project scientists. |
| Time frame | December 2008 - February 2013 |
| Funded by | Netherlands Genomics Initiative |
| Short description | |
| Aim |
Combinig the zebrafish embryo tests with genomics readout to design a sensitive and specific test for embryotoxicity of chemicals. |
| Methods |
Zebrafish embryo test, morphological scoring, gene array technology, RT-PCR, bioinformatics data analysis. |
| Details |
The zebrafish embryo assay has been well developed over the years, including measures for embryotoxicity and specific malformations. The use of omics technologies for assessing effects of chemicals at the molecular level is still in its infancy. These technologies are promising in the assessment of subtle effects that may enhance the specificity of the test. This project will explore the possibilities of applying the gene array technique to study differential gene expression in the zebrafish embryo assay. A protocol will be developed for optimal exposure timing, duration and test compound concentrations. We aim at generating a gene set that is predictive of embryotoxicity in the assay. |
| Related projects |
NTC and STW projects aimed at toxicogenomics applications to various in vitro alternatives for embryotoxicity assessment. |