Research

closeup of zebrafish in a tank — Closeup of Casper (a transparent mutant strain of zebrafish) in a tank.

Zebrafish Core Facility

Mission Statement:

The aim of the University of Mississippi Medical Center Zebrafish Core Facility is to provide the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology and the greater UMMC community with zebrafish embryos, larvae and adult zebrafish for research and be a technical resource.

Why use zebrafish as a model organism?

Molecular and pathological conservation with humans
Ability to produce a large progeny (1 breeding pair, approximately 200 embryos)
Imaging capacity
Large scale chemical and pharmacology testing in vivo
Ease of genetic manipulation

The Facility

The Cell and Molecular Biology Zebrafish Core Facility is a 1,200 sq.ft. space housing a state-of-the-art Tecniplast. The facility also has more lab space dedicated to animal work in an adjacent building, the Clinical Science Building. Altogether, the zebrafish facilty has an extra 1,160 square feet of space in the building. Currently, the facility has a state-of-the-art 750 Tecniplast tanks including a quarantine rack (80 tanks) and a nursery. The laboratory dedicated to the fish facility is equipped for several routine animal procedures such as: surgery, imaging, screening, euthanasia and storage. The different zebrafish lines are raised in-house at the UMMC zebrafish facility and maintained as live colonies.

Personnel

Director: Yann Gibert, PhD
Professor, Department of Cell & Molecular Biology
Assistant Director: Nicole Anderson, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Cell & Molecular Biology
Zebrafish Technician: Goldie Faircloth
Animal Lab Technician II
Zebrafish Technician: Brian Tran

Models

Table 1. Zebrafish Lines Available in ZCF
Contact	Name	Type	Description
GIBERT	bm3c(pou4f3)-GFP	Lineage Marker	cilia marker - Green
GIBERT	CD41-GFP	Lineage Marker	platelet marker - Green
GIBERT	ctsk-GFP	Lineage Marker	Osteoclast - Green
AND	dbh:EGFP	Lineage Marker	Peripheral Sympathetic Neuron Marker - Green
AND	dbh:mCherry	Lineage Marker	Peripheral Sympathetic Neuron Marker - Red
GIBERT	dlx2b-GFP	Lineage Marker	Tooth germ marker - Green
AND	fli1-GFP	Lineage Marker	Vascular Endothelium - Green
AND	kdr1:mCherry	Lineage Marker	Vascular Endothelium - Red
GIBERT	lyz-mCherry/mpeg1:GFP	Lineage Marker	Neurophil (Red)/Macrophage (Green)
GIBERT	mngf7-GFP	Lineage Marker	peripheral nerve marker - Green
GIBERT	mpeg-GFP	Lineage Marker	Microglia
GIBERT	sp7-GFP	Lineage Marker	Osteoblast - Green
GIBERT	wt1-GFP	Lineage Marker	pronephros - Green
AND	rag2:mCherry	Lineage Marker	T-cells - Red
AND	rag2:EGFP	Lineage Marker	T-cells - Green
GIBERT	acetyl CoA cartoxylase a (ENU)	Mutant	Loss-of-function
GIBERT	blvra (CRISPR)	Mutant	Loss-of-function
GIBERT	blvrt (CRISPR)	Mutant	Loss-of-function
GIBERT/AND	Casper	Mutant	Transparent Adult
GIBERT	CB1 (CRISPR)	Mutant	Loss-of-function
GIBERT	CB2 (CRISPR)	Mutant	Loss-of-function
GIBERT	coilin KO (CRISPR)	Mutant	Loss-of-function
GIBERT	coilin C-termunus (CRISPR)	Mutant	coilin hypomorph
GIBERT	ERR Gamma a (CRISPR)	Mutant	Loss-of-function
GIBERT	higd1a (CRISPR)	Mutant	Loss-of-function
GIBERT	higd2a (CRISPR)	Mutant	Loss-of-function
AND	p53mut (M214K)	Mutant	p53 hypomorph
GIBERT	PPAR gamma (CRISPR)	Mutant	Loss-of-function
GIBERT	runx2b (ENU)	Mutant	Loss-of-function
AND	dbh:ALK_F1174L	Transgenic	Expression of Activated ALK in PSN
AND	MYCN_TT (tg(dbh:EGFP);tg(dbh:Hsa.MYCN)	Transgenic	Neuroblastoma Model
AND	MYCN (tg(dbhEGFP-Hsa.MYCN):tg(mitfa:mitfa)	Transgenic	Neuroblastoma Model
AND	LMO1(tg(dbh:Hsa.LMO1);Tg2(dbh:mCherry)	Transgenic	LMOl Over Expression in PSN
GIBERT	AML1-ETO	Transgenic	AMLl ETO t(8,21) model
GIBERT	Tg(fabp10a:pt-beta-eatenin)	Transgenic	HCC model
GIBERT/AND	AB	Wildtype Strain
GIBERT	TL	Wildtype Strain

Inquiries

For general inquiries, please contact the facility at zebrafishcore@umc.edu

For specific research-related questions please reach out to either Dr. Gibert or Nicole Anderson to collaborate with us and use our inhouse zebrafish strains.