Table 2.
Phenotypic traits which can be screened in ZF embryos beyond early development.
| System | Phenotypic trait |
|---|---|
| Body axis | Dorsilisation (48 hpf) |
| Ventrilisation (48 hpf) | |
| Prechordal plate and hatching (24 hpf) | |
| Tail (24–48 hpf) | |
| Mesoderm | Notochord formation, differentiation, and degeneration (24 hpf) |
| Somite formation and patterning (24 hpf) | |
| Central nervous system | Forebrain (24 hpf) |
| Midbrain (24 hpf) | |
| Hindbrain (24 hpf) | |
| Neural tube – spinal cord (24 hpf) | |
| Organs | Vasculature (e.g., aortic arches, dorsal aorta, common/posterior cardinal vein, blood island; 24–48 hpf) |
| Heart: morphology, beating (48 hpf) | |
| Liver, kidney, gut (larva stadium) | |
| Eye (24 hpf) | |
| Ear (48 hpf) | |
| Otoliths (48 hpf) | |
| Pigmentation | Cell number and pattern (48 hpf) |
| Melanin pigmentation (48 hpf) | |
| Motility | Muscles (48 hpf) |
| Pectoral and caudal fin (48 hpf – larva stadium) | |
| Reduced motility (48 hpf) |
For each trait, the timing when evaluation can start is mentioned. From this timing on, serial evaluations in time are usually performed.