Sensors, Vol. 20, Pages 5088: A Miniature Intermittent-Flow Respirometry System with a 3D-Printed, Palm-Sized Zebrafish Treadmill for Measuring Rest and Activity Metabolic Rates

Sensors, Vol. 20, Pages 5088: A Miniature Intermittent-Flow Respirometry System with a 3D-Printed, Palm-Sized Zebrafish Treadmill for Measuring Rest and Activity Metabolic Rates Sensors doi: 10.3390/s20185088 Authors: Shih-Hao Huang Chia-Wei Tsao Yan-Hung Fang Zebrafish are a preferred vertebrate model for evaluating metabolism during development, and for toxicity studies. However, commercially available intermittent-flow respirometry systems (IFRS) do not provide a suitable zebrafish-scaled swimming tunnel with a low water volume and proper flow velocities. We developed a miniature IFRS (mIFRS) with a 3D-printed, palm-sized zebrafish treadmill for measuring the swimming ability and metabolic rate of a single one- or three-month-old zebrafish with and without toxicity treatment. The 3D-printed zebrafish treadmill consists of discrete components assembled together which enables the provision of a temporary closed circulating water flow. The results showed that three-month-old zebrafish of normal physiological status had higher energetic efficiency and could swim at a higher critical swimming speed (Ucrit) of 16.79 cm/s with a lower cost of transport (COTopt) of 0.11 μmol g−1m−1. However, for a single three-month-old zebrafish treated with an antibacterial agent, Ucrit decreased to 45% of normal zebrafish and the COTopt increased to 0.24 μmol g−1m−1, due to the impairment of mitochondria. ...
Source: Sensors - Category: Biotechnology Authors: Tags: Article Source Type: research