Although Gregor Mendel is considered the father of genetics, he has never taken the credit for his principles on heredity. Mendel's treatises, though they were part of the collection of the largest European libraries in the 19th century, were only rediscovered in 1900, 16 years after his death. Mendel's revolutionary ideas would have given greater strength to the formulation of Charles Darwin's ideas about common descent and gradual evolution through natural selection presented in 1859 in "The Origin of Species." However, Darwin was not totally ignorant of the possibility of genetic heredity. He even described “invisible characters” emerging in atavistic situations and named his hypothetical particle of heredity as “gemmules.” It is remarkable that the “invisible characters” and “gemmules” referred by Darwin are what we now know as genes – a term coined in 1909 by Wilhelm Johannsen that was widely accepted. During the 1930s and 40s, the findings of great proponents of genetics and evolution such as Mendel, Darwin, Wallace, Fisher, Haldane, Wright, Dobzhansky, Mayr, and several others were brought together to form the neo-Darwinian synthesis. In addition, in the 40s, genetics started its molecular revolution, which in the late 70s, driven by sequencing technology, gave rise to the genomics era. It took approximately 100 years to formulate the theoretical foundations of genetics to understand how information is transmitted to the next generations. Now, less than 45 years after the beginning of the genomic era, science is fully capable of identifying complete genomes. Among animals, fishes are one of the most relevant groups in genetic studies. Although fish studies were important in applying and corroborating Mendel's findings in the first decades of the 19th century, these studies contributed little to the development of classical genetics. However, fish have been of great importance for the development of molecular genetics. Several species such as Carassius auratus, Oryzias latipes, and Danio rerio (among several others of productive interest such as Salmo salar, Oreochromis niloticus, and Cyprinus carpio) have been used around the world as biological models. These models can be used for the study of genes and genomes, epigenetics, and genetic expression. Genetic studies using fish, in addition to increasing genetic knowledge about the species, also serve for a better general understanding of the physiology of metabolic pathways, diseases, evolution, systematics, dispersion, creation, and selection of individuals and lineages. Considering this, this Research Topic aims to bring together studies that present applications of fish as targets in genetic studies.

Scientific Frontiers in Developmental Toxicology and Risk Assessment reviews advances made during the last 10-15 years in fields such as developmental biology, molecular biology, and genetics. It describes a novel approach for how these advances might be used in combination with existing methodologies to further the understanding of mechanisms of developmental toxicity, to improve the assessment of chemicals for their ability to cause developmental toxicity, and to improve risk assessment for developmental defects. For example, based on the recent advances, even the smallest, simplest laboratory animals such as the fruit fly, roundworm, and zebrafish might be able to serve as developmental toxicological models for human biological systems. Use of such organisms might allow for rapid and inexpensive testing of large numbers of chemicals for their potential to cause developmental toxicity; presently, there are little or no developmental toxicity data available for the majority of natural and manufactured chemicals in use. This new approach to developmental toxicology and risk assessment will require simultaneous research on several fronts by experts from multiple scientific disciplines, including developmental toxicologists, developmental biologists, geneticists, epidemiologists, and biostatisticians.

Cellular and Molecular Approaches in Fish Biology is a highly interdisciplinary resource to bring industry professionals, students and researchers up-to-date with the latest developments and information on fish biology research combining a historical overview of the different research areas in fish biology and detailed descriptions of cellular and molecular approaches with explanations and recommendations for research. The book presents a global perspective of each research area with detailed analytical methodologies on the cellular and molecular mechanisms within fish biology for expermentation. The book provides different points of view on how researchers have addressed timely issues, while describing and dissecting some of the new experimental/analytical approaches used to answer the key questions at cellular and molecular levels, making this a valuable resource to those in industry and academia as well as those entering the field. - Provides detailed descriptions of each research approach, highlighting the tricks of the trade for its effective and successful application - Includes the latest developments in fish reproduction, fish development and nutrition, fish welfare, fish immunology, ecology and biomedics - Presents hot topics of research such as genetics, transcriptomics and epigenetics

Genomics in Aquaculture is a concise, must-have reference that describes current advances within the field of genomics and their applications to aquaculture. Written in an accessible manner for anyone—non-specialists to experts alike—this book provides in-depth coverage of genomics spanning from genome sequencing, to transcriptomics and proteomics. It provides, for ease of learning, examples from key species most relevant to current intensive aquaculture practice. Its coverage of minority species that have a specific biological interest (e.g., Pleuronectiformes) makes this book useful for countries that are developing such species. It is a robust, practical resource that covers foundational, functional, and applied aspects of genomics in aquaculture, presenting the most current information in a field of research that is rapidly growing. - Provides the latest scientific methods and technologies to maximize efficiencies for healthy fish production, with summary tables for quick reference - Offers an extended glossary of technical and methodological terms to help readers better understand key biological concepts - Describes state-of-the-art technologies, such as transcriptomics and epigenomics, currently under development for future perspective of the field - Covers minority species that have a specific biological interest (e.g., Pleuronectiformes), making the book useful to countries developing such species

This text is divided into three parts. The first part describes basic toxicological concepts and methodologies used in aquatic toxicity testing, including the philosophies underlying testing strategies now required to meet and support regulatory standards. The second part of the book discusses various factors that affect transport, transformation, ultimate distribution, and accumulation of chemicals in the aquatic environment, along with the use of modelling to predict fate.; The final section of the book reviews types of effects or endpoints evaluated in field studies and the use of structure-activity relationships in aquatic toxicology to predict biological activity and physio-chemical properties of a chemical. This section also contains an extensive background of environmental legislation in the USA and within the European Community, and an introduction to hazard/risk assessment with case studies.

The Zebrafish in Biomedical Research: Biology, Husbandry, Diseases, and Research Applications is a comprehensive work that fulfills a critical need for a thorough compilation of information on this species. The text provides significant updates for working vivarium professionals maintaining zebrafish colonies, veterinarians responsible for their care and well-being, zoologists and ethologists studying the species, and investigators using the species to gain critical insights into human physiology and disease. As the zebrafish has become an important model organism for the study of vertebrate development and disease, organ function, behavior, toxicology, cancer, and drug discovery, this book presents an important resource for future research. - Presents a complete view of the zebrafish, covering their biology, husbandry, diseases and research applications - Includes the work of world-renowned authors - Provides the first authoritative and comprehensive treatment of zebrafish in biomedical research as part of the ACLAM series