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Zebrafish - The Model Organism of Choice
Luminomics utilizes Danio rerio, the zebrafish, as the foundation of it’s drug discovery platform.
Our transgenic disease model system provides an unprecedented opportunity to reveal the genomics and pharmacology of cellular regeneration in a model system that closely mirrors human biology.
The use of the zebrafish in biological research has grown exponentially over the last few years for several reasons, the most remarkable being that zebrafish facilitate a unique confluence of traditional genetics and high-volume screening in vertebrate model system. Some of the key features that have drawn biotech research to the zebrafish are:
- Forward Genetics based Disease Modeling:
- - Vertebrate excellent model for human biology
- - Fecundity large number of offspring per mating
- - Speed short reproductive cycle
- - Volume thousands of drugs can be screened weekly
- - Genetics 90% identical to humans:
- - proven relevance to human biology & human disease
- - phenotype driven mutational screens link genes directly to diseases
- Rapid Development - from Egg to Swimming Larvae in 5 days
- Transparency allows Visualization of Tissue and Cellular Development
- Economical to Maintain in Lab Environment
- Ethically Preferred Alternative for High-Volume Screening
The pivotal element that zebrafish bring to degenerative disease research is their remarkable capacity for cellular regeneration. Unlike humans, the zebrafish can regenerate every cell and tissue type studied to date - including neurons. Thus, forward genetic screens can be utilized to rapidly identify genetic pathways required for cellular regeneration while simultaneously creating degenerative disease models for regeneration-promoting drug screens. By design, our platform links a gene's function directly with its discovery. Our patent pending approach bridges the gaps between candidate gene identification, relevance to disease, patentable knowledge of gene function, and disease model creation.
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