Zebrafish Core Facility
About Us
Since 1st July 2021, CCMR has been managing the Zebrafish Core Facility (ZCF) located on 6/F, Laboratory Block, Faculty of Medicine Building, which will supplement the newly established Zebrafish Core Centralized Breeding area located in Dexter Man Building. Our mission is to provide comprehensive support to the research community at the University of Hong Kong through high-quality zebrafish resources and services. We aim to facilitate cutting-edge research and innovation by offering state-of-the-art facilities and expertise in zebrafish biology. Our vision is to be a leading center of excellence in zebrafish research support, fostering collaboration and advancing scientific discovery. By maintaining a centralized breeding area and top-notch facilities, we strive to be at the forefront of zebrafish research, contributing to impactful discoveries and breakthroughs in biomedical sciences.
Zebrafish (Danio rerio) is a freshwater species in minnow family under the order Cypriniformes. Native to south Asia, the species is emerging as a vertebrate model organism for studying gene interaction, developmental biology and modeling human diseases. Optically transparent embryos, large brood size and relatively short lifecycle compared to other vertebrate model organisms vastly accelerated biological studies.
News
CCMR will be able to provide housing, breeding and training services to zebrafish users from 1st July 2021
Facility and Equipment
The Zebrafish Core facility is currently located in two buildings along the Sassoon Road. With total 1000 tanks housing capacity maintained by a state-of-the-art standalone, multi-rack re-circulating and flow-through (quarantine) housing systems that are fully automated, the systems are kept at a constant temperature, pH and conductivity. The water source is reverse osmosis treated municipal water with added salt and sodium bicarbonate. The water quality is monitored continuous with water exchange rate of 10-20% per day for standalone and re-circulating system.
Wild type lines (AB and TU) and transgenic line (e.g. mitfaw2/w2; mpv17a9/a9 [Common name: Casper]) are provided by ZCF. Researchers wishing to obtain fish and embryos are required to have CULATR protocols and/or holding approved prior to placing their order in CARES. Requests for eggs/embryos/adult fish must be made at least 2 working days in advance and is subjected to availability. Researchers are advised to plan and submit advance orders to minimize waiting times.
Husbandry
- General Husbandry in Zebrafish Core Facility, HKU- Standard Operating Procedures
- Fish anaesthesia
- Fish euthanasia
- Embryo bleaching
- Fin clipping
- Procedures and Regulation
Services and Price List
Our Services
- Provides both Wild Type and Transgenic line
- Import and Export
- In-vitro fertilization (IVF)
- Fin Clipping
- Dechorionization of embryos
- Surface Disinfection of embryos
- Microinjection Training
- Sperm cryopreservation
Price List
Resources
Books
1. The Zebrafish Book, 4th edition, by M. Westerfield. 2007. University of Oregon Press.
2. Zebrafish: A Practical Approach, edited by R. Dahm, C. Nusslein-Volhard, 2000. Oxford University Press.
3.The Laboratory Fish, edited by G.C. Ostrander, 2000. Academic Press.
4.Plankton Culture Manual, 6th edition, by F. Hoff and T. Snell.
5.The Laboratory Zebrafish, by C. Harper, C. Lawrence. 2011. CRC Press.
Electronic Resources
1. Zebrafish International Resource Center (ZIRC), USA
2. China Zebrafish Resource Centre (CZRC)
3. European Zebrafish Resource Center (EZRC), Germany
3. Zebrafish Husbandry Association (ZHA) Blo
4. Zebrafish Information Network (ZFIN)
