Effect of UV Light on Zebrafish Embryonic Development

Zebrafish (Danio rerio) is a vertebrate fish that is used a lot in scientific research to study embryonic development and birth defects. They are that are easy to study because of their transparency and high development rate. The hypothesis of this project is that if I expose the zebrafish embryo to an abnormal amount of ultraviolet (UV) light, the embryonic development of zebrafish will be defective. The question is, “How will changing the exposure to UV light (manipulated variable) affect the development of the zebrafish embryos?” Different variables include the amount of UV light (independent variable), embryonic development (dependent variable), and water, methylene blue, Danio rerio, temperature, and tank environment (controlled variables). First, the zebrafish tank was set up. The zebrafish were bred, and their eggs were collected. Then the zebrafish embryos were exposed to UV light for different time intervals and their embryonic development was observed under the microscope. In all experiments, more than three embryos were used. The results showed that the increased UV exposure decreased the embryo survival rate. Embryos that were exposed to the UV light for a longer duration looked short, hunched, and they did not hatch. Finally, longer UV light exposure also resulted in an abnormal heart development. In conclusion, the UV light is harmful for embryonic development. In the future, I will study the effect of UV light on the zebrafish embryonic heart development and heart rate in the adult zebrafish