Embryonic development of Indonesian native fish yellow rasbora (Rasbora lateristriata)

Objectives: Yellow rasbora (Rasbora lateristriata) exhibits potential as a novel animal model for research purposes. Nevertheless, the process of embryonic development of this fish species remains inadequately comprehended. This study aimed to characterize the embryonic development stages of yellow rasbora. Methods: The embryonic development was documented using time-lapse technique to observe the following parameters: the embryonic cleavage, the blastomere, the epiboly area, and the somites. Heart development and morphological changes were also observed, including the number of heartbeats at 24, 30, 48 h post-fertilization. The cartilage structure in the cranium of larvae aged 1 to 3 days post-fertilization were observed as well. Alizarin red and Alcian blue staining were used to stain bone and cartilage structures. Results: The results of this study describe the important stages of embryogenesis in yellow rasbora, including the zygote, cleavage, blastula, gastrula, segmentation, pharyngula, and hatching stages. The first contraction of the heart muscle was observed at 20 h post-fertilization, with cardiac tube looping occurred at 24–30 h post-fertilization. The cranium cartilage was formed 2 days post-fertilization and completed at 3 days post-fertilization. Conclusion: In conclusion, this study provided a comprehensive overview of the developmental stages of yellow rasbora embryos. © 2023 The Author(s)