Generation of zebrafishDanio rerio(Hamilton, 1822) transgenic lines overexpressing a heat-shock mediated Gla-rich protein

In an effort to provide more information on the function of Grp isoforms in zebrafish, two zebrafish transgenic lines were generated that could conditionally overexpress grp genes. Reported here is the process and strategy used for the generation of these transgenic lines. Overexpression of Grp1 and Grp2 were induced by heat-shock treatment to investigate their possible roles in the skeleton development. Differences in skeleton development were analysed by alizarin red staining in the larvae. Although no differences in total deformities between wild type and Grp overexpressing larvae were observed, Grp1 and Grp2 overexpressing larvae presented a high percentage of deformities in abdominal and caudal fin vertebra, respectively, with a suggested specific localization of deformities for each isoform.