The zebrafish as a model for gastrointestinal tract–microbe interactions

• Published in: Cellular microbiology Vol. 22; no. 3; pp. e13152 - n/a
• Main Authors: Flores, Erika M., Nguyen, Anh T., Odem, Max A., Eisenhoffer, George T., Krachler, Anne Marie
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chichester, UK John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.03.2020
• Subjects: Animals; Bacterial Infections; Clutch size; Danio rerio; Disease Models, Animal; Gastrointestinal Microbiome; Gastrointestinal system; Gastrointestinal tract; Gastrointestinal Tract - immunology; Gastrointestinal Tract - microbiology; Gastrointestinal Tract - parasitology; Hindbrain; Host Microbial Interactions; host–pathogen interactions; infection model; Infections; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases; Larva; Microbial Interactions; Microbiology; microbiome; microbiota; Protozoa; Protozoan Infections; Swim bladder; Vertebrates; Zebrafish; microbiota; host-pathogen interactions; infection model; gastrointestinal tract; Danio rerio; zebrafish; microbiome
• ISSN: 1462-5814; 1462-5822; 1462-5822
• DOI: 10.1111/cmi.13152

The zebrafish (Danio rerio) has become a widely used vertebrate model for bacterial, fungal, viral, and protozoan infections. Due to its genetic tractability, large clutch sizes, ease of manipulation, and optical transparency during early life stages, it is a particularly useful model to address questions about the cellular microbiology of host–microbe interactions. Although its use as a model for systemic infections, as well as infections localised to the hindbrain and swimbladder having been thoroughly reviewed, studies focusing on host–microbe interactions in the zebrafish gastrointestinal tract have been neglected. Here, we summarise recent findings regarding the developmental and immune biology of the gastrointestinal tract, drawing parallels to mammalian systems. We discuss the use of adult and larval zebrafish as models for gastrointestinal infections, and more generally, for studies of host–microbe interactions in the gut.