Fluorescent zebrafish offer insight into pollution’s health impact

A modified transgenic zebrafish with a fluorescent green glow could offer a potential new method of assessing the impact of polluting chemicals on human health.

The University of Exeter has conducted a study into oestrogenic environmental chemicals that aims to assess the potential risks they can pose to health, in addition to the previously-documented reproductive issues they cause.

To do so, researchers developed a modified fish that produces green fluorescent signals when exposed to these agents, offering a comprehensive insight into their effects on the whole body.

It was found that more organs and parts of the body – including the skeletal muscles and eyes – react to environmental oestrogens than was previously thought.

Professor Charles Tyler of the University of Exeter, a corresponding author for the study, said: "While it is still early days, we are confident that our zebrafish model can help us better understand the way the human body responds to these pollutants."

Zebrafish are also the target of a current British Heart Foundation-led project that aims to understand their ability to regrow damaged heart tissue following cardiac incidents.