Recent advances in neuromuscular junction research prompted by the zebrafish model

Use of zebrafish in neurobiology became popular after a large scale mutagenesis project in the 1990s produced mutants with anatomical as well as functional phenotypes in the nervous system. Zebrafish is now used in all areas of neuroscience, including in studying the neuromuscular junction (NMJ). Recent advances in several aspects of the NMJ research are summarized in this short review. Discussed papers provide novel information on synaptic vesicle regulation, the postsynaptic clustering of acetylcholine receptors, and human neurological disorders.