Accelerating Chemobehavioral Phenotypic Screening in Neurotoxicology Using a Living Embryo Array System

Large-scale chemobehavioral phenotyping with zebrafish embryos is a promising avenue for accelerated neurotoxicity testing and discovery of behavior-modifying neuroceuticals. These strategies are hampered by lack of effective embryo in-test positioning, wide-field imaging, and high-throughput bioinformatic analytics. In this study, we demonstrate advantages of using custom large-density embryo arrays in conjunction with an open-source ultra-high-definition video imaging system. Moreover, we present a high-throughput bioinformatics workflow for rapid behavioral analysis of large cohorts of specimens in photomotor response bioassays. The system validation was showcased in a proof-of-concept neurotoxicity analysis.

Automated summary

This study demonstrates the advantages of using custom embryo arrays and an ultra-high-definition video imaging system for large-scale chemobehavioral phenotyping with zebrafish embryos. It also presents a high-throughput bioinformatics workflow for rapid behavioral analysis of large cohorts of embryos.