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Exercise‐induced lordosis in zebrafish Danio rerio (Hamilton, 1822)
Author(s) -
Printzi Alice,
Fragkoulis Stefanos,
Dimitriadi Anastasia,
Keklikoglou Kleoniki,
Arvanitidis Christos,
Witten P. Eckhard,
Koumoundouros George
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of fish biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.672
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1095-8649
pISSN - 0022-1112
DOI - 10.1111/jfb.14240
Subject(s) - zebrafish , danio , vertebral column , lordosis , biology , anatomy , anabolism , skeleton (computer programming) , cartilage , axial skeleton , spinal cord , medicine , endocrinology , radiography , neuroscience , surgery , genetics , gene
The anabolic effect of exercise on muscles and bones is well documented. In teleost fish, exercise has been shown to accelerate skeletogenesis, to increase bone volume, and to change the shape of vertebral bodies. Still, increased swimming has also been reported to induce malformations of the teleost vertebral column, particularly lordosis. This study examines whether zebrafish ( Danio rerio ) develops lordosis as a result of continuous physical exercise. Zebrafish were subjected, for 1 week, to an increased swimming exercise of 5.0, 6.5 or 8.0 total body lengths (TL) per second. Control and exercise group zebrafish were examined for the presence of vertebral abnormalities, by in vivo examination, whole mount staining for bone and cartilage and histology and micro‐computed tomography (CT) scanning. Exercise zebrafish developed a significantly higher rate of lordosis in the haemal part of the vertebral column. At the end of the experiment, the frequency of lordosis in the control groups was 0.5 ± 1.3% and that in the exercise groups was 7.5 ± 10.6%, 47.5 ± 10.6% and 92.5 ± 6.0% of 5.0, 6.5 and 8.0 TL∙s −1 , respectively. Histological analysis and CT scanning revealed abnormal vertebrae with dorsal folding of the vertebral body end plates. Possible mechanisms that trigger lordotic spine malformations are discussed. This is the first study to report a quick, reliable and welfare‐compatible method of inducing skeletal abnormalities in a vertebrate model during the post‐embryonic period.