The zebrafish (Danio rerio), a tropical, freshwater fish native to South Asia, is a well-established model organism in basic and translational research due to its several key features:

• high similarity to human genetic/ molecular mechanisms
• clinically relevant model of human physiology and pathology
• rapid, external development of optically transparent embryos
• the only vertebrate model that can be used in high-throughput screening studies
• ease of genetic modifications
• thousands of transgenic and mutant lines availability
• cost-effective maintenance
• no ethical approval is required for the use of larvae younger than 120 hours post fertilization
• an attractive worldwide alternative to mammalian in vivo models that can be used to adhere to the Reduce, Refine, Replace (3R) principles of animal research