Research support was provided by a UCR Graduate Division Fellowship to SAB, a NRSA T32 Training Program Fellowship (T32ES018827) to SAB, and a National Institutes of Health grant (R01ES027576) and USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture Hatch Project (1009609) to DCV.

Adult breeders were handled and treated in accordance with an Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC)-approved animal use protocol (#20180063) at the University of California, Riverside.
1. Zebrafish embryo collection and chemical exposure
<ol>
	<li>Add in-tank breeding traps to tanks containing sexually mature and reproductively viable adult male and female zebrafish. Add at least three traps per 6 L tank at least 12 h prior to collection at ~9:00 AM, which is the approximate time of fertilization and spawning of eggs within tanks.</li>
	<li>Prepare a fresh exposure solution on the morning of collection. The exposure solution is prepared using a 5 mL pipette and adding 5.0 mL of particulate-free system water to a 60 mm glass Petri dish.</li>
	<li>Then, use a 10 &#181;L glass microcapillary pipette to transfer 10 &#181;L of vehicle (dimethyl sulfoxide, or DMSO) or chemical stock solution to system water in the glass dish.</li>
	<li>Swirl the glass Petri dish to ensure the stock solution dissipates. Add another 5.0 mL of system water to the glass Petri dish. Swirl the glass Petri dish to homogenize the exposure solution.</li>
	<li>Repeat for each treatment group in replicates of four to yield four replicates per treatment.</li>
	<li>After exposure solutions have been prepared, cap the glass dishes with glass lids to minimize evaporation.</li>
	<li>While removing the breeding traps from each tank, carefully allow the water within each trap to drain out into the tank before removing from the tanks. Make sure the traps stay right-side up.</li>
	<li>Transfer the breeding traps to the lab sink and rinse them using a squirt bottle filled with reverse osmosis (RO) water into a fish net previously soaked in 10% bleach and rinsed with water. Rinse the embryos until all debris is cleared and only clean embryos remain.</li>
	<li>Transfer the embryos from the fish net using an RO water-filled squirt bottle into a 100 mm plastic Petri dish. Randomly sort 50 live embryos at 0.75 h post-fertilization (hpf) and remove excess RO water.</li>
	<li>Using a microspatula, place sorted embryos into the treatment solution. All embryos must be within vehicle or treatment solution no earlier than 9:45 AM. Swirl the glass dishes to ensure the embryos are evenly coated within the treatment solution.</li>
	<li>After four replicate dishes (N = 50 per replicate) have been set up for each treatment group, place the glass lid on top of the exposure dishes and transfer all dishes into a temperature-controlled incubator set at 28 &#176;C until 2 hpf, 4 hpf, 6hpf, 8 hpf, or 10 hpf.</li>
	<li>Prepare fresh 4% paraformaldehyde (PFA) at least 4 h prior to exposure termination and store at 4 &#176;C.
	<ol>
		<li>Turn on the hotplate to 115 &#176;C, make 20 mL of 1x phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) (2 mL of 10x PBS + 18 mL of RO water) in a 50 mL centrifuge tube, and weight out 800 mg of paraformaldehyde.</li>
		<li>Within a chemical fume hood, transfer 1x PBS solution to a 250 mL Erlenmeyer flask, add 800 mg of paraformaldehyde, and then add 2 &#181;L of 10 N NaOH. Place a thermometer inside the flask, place the flask on the hot plate, and watch the temperature while stirring.</li>
		<li>When the temperature reaches 62-65 &#176;Cremove the 4% PFA from the hot plate and allow it to cool to room temperature (RT). Store the 4% PFA at 4 &#176;C.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
	<li>Once the exposure duration has ended, remove the embryos from the incubator and transfer all living embryos to a 1.5 mL microcentrifuge tube. Aspirate residual exposure solution using a 1 mL pipette. Do not aspirate any embryos.</li>
	<li>Add 500 &#181;L of chilled 4% PFA to a 1.5 mL microcentrifuge tube and mix the embryos in 4% PFA by inverting several times. Allow the embryos to fix in 4% PFA overnight. 
	&#8203;NOTE: It is not recommended to allow embryos to stay in PFA for longer than 12 h.</li>
</ol>
2. Dechorionation of embryos
<ol>
	<li>The following day, aspirate off the 4% PFA, resuspend the embryos in 1x PBS, and gently pipette up and down for 30 s. If needed, stop the protocol at this step and store the embryos in 1x PBS at 4 &#176;C for up to 48 h.</li>
	<li>Using a plastic transfer pipette, carefully transfer fixed embryos to a RO water-filled glass dish and gently swirl for 30 s. Repeat this step one more time.</li>
	<li>Use syringe needles under 5.0x magnification using a standard stereomicroscope to manually dechorionate all embryos. Do this by using the needle tip to puncture the chorion and gently peel it away from the yolk and cell mass4.</li>
	<li>Once the embryos have been dechorionated, use a glass microcapillary pipette to transfer up to 25 intact embryos into one immunochemistry (IHC) basket and place the IHC basket into a 96-well plate. Use a 1 mL pipette to aspirate the RO water from each well.</li>
</ol>
3. Immunohistochemistry using 5-mC-specific antibody
<ol>
	<li>Resuspend the embryos in 500 &#181;L of blocking buffer (1x PBST + 2% sheep serum + 2 mg/mL bovine serum albumin) per well, and wrap the plate with parafilm and aluminum foil to protect them from light. Incubate at 4 &#176;C for 4 h on an orbital shaker (100 rpm).</li>
	<li>Remove the parafilm wrap and aluminum and use a 1 mL pipette to aspirate the blocking buffer from each well. Replace it with 500 &#181;L of a 1:100 dilution of monoclonal mouse anti-5-mC antibody in the blocking buffer. Incubate all embryos with primary antibodies except for a subset of vehicle control embryos which will be incubated with the blocking buffer to account for background noise. Be careful not to disrupt the integrity of embryos, nor to aspirate embryos during this step.</li>
	<li>Rewrap the plate in parafilm and aluminum foil and allow the plate to incubate at 4 &#176;C overnight on an orbital shaker (100 rpm).</li>
	<li>The following day, remove the primary antibody solution from each well and replace it with 1x PBS + 0.1% Tween-20 (1x PBST). Wash each well three times with 1x PBST for 15 min per wash on an orbital shaker (100 rpm).</li>
	<li>Replace 1x PBST with a 1:500 dilution of goat anti-mouse IgG antibody in blocking buffer and incubate all embryos with the secondary antibody. Let the plate incubate at 4 &#176;C overnight on an orbital shaker (100 rpm).</li>
	<li>The following day, remove the secondary antibody and wash the residual solution three times with 1x PBST for 15 min per wash on an orbital shaker (100 rpm). 
	NOTE: The protocol can be stopped here for up to 48 h if the IHC baskets are stored in clean wells filled with 1x PBS.</li>
	<li>Use a 1 mL pipette to aspirate 1x PBST from each well and place the IHC basket into a glass Petri dish filled with RO water. Under a standard stereomicroscope, randomly sort intact embryos into a 96-well plate, resulting in one embryo per well.</li>
	<li>Using a 1 mL pipette, remove all RO water from individual wells and replace it with 200 &#181;L of 1x PBS. Centrifuge the plate for 3 min at 1 x g.</li>
</ol>
4. Automated imaging of embryos within 96-well plates
<ol>
	<li>Image the embryos with a 2x objective under transmitted light and FITC using a high-content screening system (Table of Materials). 
	NOTE: A fluorescent image of each embryo was captured automatically using the above-mentioned magnification and a FITC filter19.
	<ol>
		<li>Select Autofocus to ensure the focus of the camera is on the bottom of the plate and offset by the bottom thickness.</li>
		<li>Select a FITC wavelength with an exposure duration of 100 ms, and set the Autofocus to laser with a Z-offset. Observe and confirm proper image acquisition in several wells prior to commencing plate acquisition. 
		NOTE: The instrument automatically acquires images from all selected wells containing embryos. A 96-well plate required approximately 30 min for image acquisition and data storage. For the duration of the acquisition period, the internal temperature within the imaging system was maintained at RT.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
	<li>Following image acquisition, carry out data analysis using the high-content screening system and a custom automated image analysis procedure. Select each embryo on the 96-well plate to be analyzed for total area and integrated intensity of fluorescence. 
	NOTE: The analysis included providing images that contained overlays of data points from the analysis.</li>
	<li>Then, tabulate the data points and export them from the high-content screening system by going under Measure and selecting Open Data Log to a spreadsheet. The plate acquisition and data analysis portions are depicted in Figure 1.</li>
</ol>
5.&#160;Data analysis
<ol>
	<li>Upload the exported spreadsheet into a computer program where the deployer (dplyr) package is used to sort, summate data for each well, and filter by well number. The writexl package is then used to export the summated data into a spreadsheet. The 5mC program code is shown in Supplemental File 1.</li>
</ol>

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	<li>Zhang, H. -. Y., Xiong, J., Qi, B. -. L., Feng, Y. -. Q., Yuan, B. -. F. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=The+existence+of+5-hydroxymethylcytosine+and+5-formylcytosine+in+both+DNA+and+RNA+in+mammals.">The existence of 5-hydroxymethylcytosine and 5-formylcytosine in both DNA and RNA in mammals.</a> Chemical Communications. 52 (4), 737-740 (2016).</li><li>Huang, W., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Formation+and+determination+of+the+oxidation+products+of+5-methylcytosine+in+RNA.">Formation and determination of the oxidation products of 5-methylcytosine in RNA.</a> Chemical Science. 7 (8), 5495-5502 (2016).</li><li>Avila-Barnard, S., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Tris(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl)+phosphate+disrupts+the+trajectory+of+cytosine+methylation+within+developing+zebrafish+embryos.">Tris(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate disrupts the trajectory of cytosine methylation within developing zebrafish embryos.</a> Environmental Research. 211, 113078 (2022).</li><li>Dasgupta, S., Cheng, V., Volz, D. C. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Utilizing+zebrafish+embryos+to+reveal+disruptions+in+dorsoventral+patterning.">Utilizing zebrafish embryos to reveal disruptions in dorsoventral patterning.</a> Current Protocols. 1 (6), 179 (2021).</li><li>Vliet, S. M. F., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Maternal-to-zygotic+transition+as+a+potential+target+for+niclosamide+during+early+embryogenesis.">Maternal-to-zygotic transition as a potential target for niclosamide during early embryogenesis.</a> Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology. 380, 114699 (2019).</li><li>Kupsco, A., Dasgupta, S., Nguyen, C., Volz, D. C. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Dynamic+alterations+in+DNA+methylation+precede+Tris(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl)phosphate-induced+delays+in+zebrafish+epiboly.">Dynamic alterations in DNA methylation precede Tris(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl)phosphate-induced delays in zebrafish epiboly.</a> Environmental Science &amp; Technology Letters. 4 (9), 367-373 (2017).</li><li>Dasgupta, S., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Complex+interplay+among+nuclear+receptor+ligands,+cytosine+methylation,+and+the+metabolome+in+driving+tris(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl)phosphate-induced+epiboly+defects+in+zebrafish.">Complex interplay among nuclear receptor ligands, cytosine methylation, and the metabolome in driving tris(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl)phosphate-induced epiboly defects in zebrafish.</a> Environmental Science &amp; Technology. 53 (17), 10497-10505 (2019).</li><li>McGee, S. P., Cooper, E. M., Stapleton, H. M., Volz, D. C. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Early+zebrafish+embryogenesis+is+susceptible+to+developmental+TDCPP+exposure.">Early zebrafish embryogenesis is susceptible to developmental TDCPP exposure.</a> Environmental Health Perspectives. 120 (11), 1585-1591 (2012).</li><li>Geiman, T. M., Muegge, K. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=DNA+methylation+in+early+development.">DNA methylation in early development.</a> Molecular Reproduction and Development. 77 (2), 105-113 (2010).</li><li>Wossidlo, M., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=5-Hydroxymethylcytosine+in+the+mammalian+zygote+is+linked+with+epigenetic+reprogramming.">5-Hydroxymethylcytosine in the mammalian zygote is linked with epigenetic reprogramming.</a> Nature Communications. 2 (1), 1-8 (2011).</li><li>Rottach, A., Leonhardt, H., Spada, F. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=DNA+methylation-mediated+epigenetic+control.">DNA methylation-mediated epigenetic control.</a> Journal of Cellular Biochemistry. 108 (1), 43-51 (2009).</li><li>Egger, G., Liang, G., Aparicio, A., Jones, P. A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Epigenetics+in+human+disease+and+prospects+for+epigenetic+therapy.">Epigenetics in human disease and prospects for epigenetic therapy.</a> Nature. 429 (6990), 457-463 (2004).</li><li>Ooi, S. K. T., O'Donnell, A. H., Bestor, T. H. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Mammalian+cytosine+methylation+at+a+glance.">Mammalian cytosine methylation at a glance.</a> Journal of Cell Science. 122 (16), 2787-2791 (2009).</li><li>Baylin, S. B., Jones, P. A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=A+decade+of+exploring+the+cancer+epigenome-biological+and+translational+implications.">A decade of exploring the cancer epigenome-biological and translational implications.</a> Nature Reviews Cancer. 11 (10), 726-734 (2011).</li><li>Robertson, K. D. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=DNA+methylation+and+chromatin-unraveling+the+tangled+web.">DNA methylation and chromatin-unraveling the tangled web.</a> Oncogene. 21 (35), 5361-5379 (2002).</li><li>Robertson, K. D. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=DNA+methylation+and+human+disease.">DNA methylation and human disease.</a> Nature Reviews Genetics. 6 (8), 597-610 (2005).</li><li>Greenberg, M. V. C., Bourc'his, D. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=The+diverse+roles+of+DNA+methylation+in+mammalian+development+and+disease.">The diverse roles of DNA methylation in mammalian development and disease.</a> Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology. 20 (10), 590-607 (2019).</li><li>Yuan, B. -. F., Feng, Y. -. Q. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Recent+advances+in+the+analysis+of+5-methylcytosine+and+its+oxidation+products.">Recent advances in the analysis of 5-methylcytosine and its oxidation products.</a> Trends in Analytical Chemistry. 54, 24-35 (2014).</li><li>Lantz-McPeak, S., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Developmental+toxicity+assay+using+high+content+screening+of+zebrafish+embryos.">Developmental toxicity assay using high content screening of zebrafish embryos.</a> Journal of Applied Toxicology. 35 (3), 261-272 (2015).</li></ol>

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

During this protocol, there are a few steps that are critical. First, when dechorionating embryos, it is important to point the needle away from the tissue of the embryo/yolk sac/cell mass, as these portions of the developing embryo are very fragile and easy to puncture. Second, when transferring labeled embryos to individual wells, use a glass pipette to transfer embryos as they will adhere to a plastic pipette. Third, when performing whole-mount IHC, ensure that the plate is protected from light. Finally, after complet...

Enzymatic modifications drive active methylation and demethylation of cytosine into 5-methylcytosine (5-mC) and subsequent oxidation of 5-mC into 5-hydroxymethylcytosine, 5-formylcytosine, and 5-carboxylcytosine1,2. Tris(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate (TDCIPP) is a widely used flame retardant in the United States that has been previously demonstrated to alter the trajectory of cytosine methylation following early embryonic exposure from 0.75 hours post-fertilization (hpf) through early gastrulation (6 hpf)3,4,5,6,7,8. Within vertebrates, 5-mC and its modified derivatives are critical for regulating early embryonic development9. Fertilization of an embryo triggers demethylation of parental DNA, followed by maternal mRNA degradation, zygotic genome activation, and remethylation of the zygotic genome9. Biologically relevant processes that utilize cytosine methylation include histone modification, recruitment of transcriptional machinery, RNA methylation, epigenetic reprogramming, and determination of chromatin structure10,11. Cytosine methylation is also conserved among vertebrate species, underscoring the importance of understanding and investigating how aberrant cytosine methylation may affect the trajectory of an organism&#39;s development11. Furthermore, in utero development is sensitive to maternal exposure and has the potential to cause adverse outcomes such as immediate phenotypic consequences, long-term effects on adult disease susceptibility, and transgenerational effects of inherited epigenetic marks12,13,14.
Long stretches of cytosine-guanine pairs, or CpG islands, have been the primary foci of investigators that aim to characterize the dynamics of cytosine methylation across the genome15,16,17. Bisulfite-based strategies such as whole-genome bisulfite sequencing, reduced representation bisulfite sequencing, and bisulfite amplicon sequencing represent the gold standard for interrogating cytosine methylation at base-pair resolution. However, sequencing-based approaches are cost-prohibitive and, as such, preclude the ability to monitor cytosine methylation across developmental stages, multiple concentrations per chemical, and replicate embryos per treatment. In addition, sequencing-based approaches do not provide information about spatial localization, which is critical for understanding potentially affected cell types and areas within a developing embryo. Similarly, global DNA methylation assays such as methylation-dependent restriction analysis, 5-mC enzyme-linked immunoassays (ELISAs), and 5-methyl-2&#39;-deoxycytidine (5-mC) liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) rely on cell or tissue homogenates and, as such, preclude the ability to monitor the localization and magnitude of cytosine methylation over space and time within intact specimens12,18.
Due to the ease of automated in vivo imaging, genetic manipulations, rapid ex utero development time, and husbandry during embryogenesis, zebrafish embryos continue to be widely used as physiologically intact models to uncover xenobiotic-mediated pathways that contribute to adverse outcomes during early embryonic development. Therefore, using commercially available antibodies specific to 5-mC, the protocol below describes a cost-effective strategy for rapid and efficient spatiotemporal monitoring of cytosine methylation within individual, intact zebrafish embryos by leveraging whole-mount immunohistochemistry (IHC), automated high-content imaging, and efficient data processing using programming language prior to statistical analysis.
To current knowledge, this method is the first to monitor 5-mC within intact zebrafish embryos. The method enables the detection of DNA methylation within the cell mass and also has the ability to detect cytosine methylation of yolk-localized maternal mRNAs during the maternal-to-zygotic transition. Overall, this method will be useful for the rapid identification of chemicals that have the potential to disrupt cytosine methylation in situ during epigenetic reprogramming.

<table border="1" fo:keep-together.within-page="1" fo:keep-with-next.within-page="always">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>1.5-mL microcentrifuge tubes</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>540225</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>10-&#181;L glass microcapillary pipette</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>211762B</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>100-mm plastic Petri dish</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>08757100D</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>10x phosphate-buffered saline&#160;</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>BP399500</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>1-mL pipette&#160;</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>13690032</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>250-mL Erlenmeyer flask</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>FB501250</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>5-mL pipette</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>13690033</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>60-mm glass petri dishes with lids</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>08747A</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>96-well plate</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>720089</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>AlexaFluor 488-conjugated goat anti-mouse IgG antibody&#160;</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>A21121</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Bovine serum albumin</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>BP67110</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>DMSO</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>BP2311</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Hotplate&#160;</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>1110016SH</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>In-tank breeding traps</td>
			<td>Aquatic Habitats</td>
			<td>N/A</td>
			<td>This product is no longer available following acquisition of Aquatic Habitats by Pentair.&#160; Investigators can use standard off-system breeding tanks available from multiple vendors.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>ImageXpress Micro XLS Widefield High-Content Screening System</td>
			<td>Molecular Devices</td>
			<td>N/A</td>
			<td>Any high-content screening system equipped with transmitted light and FITC filter will be suitable.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Immunochemistry (IHC) basket</td>
			<td>N/A</td>
			<td>N/A</td>
			<td>Manufactured in-house using microcentrifuge tubes with conical portion removed and bottom fitted with mesh, sized for 24- or 48-well plates.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>MetaXpress 6.0.3.1658&#160;</td>
			<td>Molecular Devices</td>
			<td>N/A</td>
			<td>Any software capable of quantifying total area and integrated intensity of fluorescence will be suitable.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Microspatula</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>2140115</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Monoclonal mouse anti-5-mC antibody</td>
			<td>Millipore Sigma</td>
			<td>MABE146</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>NaOH</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>BP359-500</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Orbital shaker&#160;</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>50998290</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Parafilm&#160;</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>1337412</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Paraformaldehyde&#160;</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>18612139</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Plastic transfer pipette</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>1368050</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Rstudio</td>
			<td>RStudio</td>
			<td>N/A</td>
			<td>RStudio is open-source software and can be downloaded at https://www.rstudio.com.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Sheep serum</td>
			<td>Millipore Sigma</td>
			<td>S3772-5ML</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Stereomicroscope</td>
			<td>Leica</td>
			<td>10450103</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Temperature-controlled incubator&#160;</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>PR505755L</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Tween-20&#160;</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>P7949-500ML</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

rapid and efficient spatiotemporal monitoring of normal and aberrant cytosine methylation within intact zebrafish embryos

Cytosine methylation is highly conserved across vertebrate species and, as a key driver of epigenetic programming and chromatin state, plays a critical role in early embryonic development. Enzymatic modifications drive active methylation and demethylation of cytosine into 5-methylcytosine (5-mC) and subsequent oxidation of 5-mC into 5-hydroxymethylcytosine, 5-formylcytosine, and 5-carboxylcytosine. Epigenetic reprogramming is a critical period during in utero development, and maternal exposure to chemicals has the potential to reprogram the epigenome within offspring. This can potentially cause adverse outcomes such as immediate phenotypic consequences, long-term effects on adult disease susceptibility, and transgenerational effects of inherited epigenetic marks. Although bisulfite-based sequencing enables investigators to interrogate cytosine methylation at base-pair resolution, sequencing-based approaches are cost-prohibitive and, as such, preclude the ability to monitor cytosine methylation across developmental stages, multiple concentrations per chemical, and replicate embryos per treatment. Due to the ease of automated in vivo imaging, genetic manipulations, rapid ex utero development time, and husbandry during embryogenesis, zebrafish embryos continue to be used as a physiologically intact model for uncovering xenobiotic-mediated pathways that contribute to adverse outcomes during early embryonic development. Therefore, using commercially available 5-mC-specific antibodies, we describe a cost-effective strategy for rapid and efficient spatiotemporal monitoring of cytosine methylation within individual, intact zebrafish embryos by leveraging whole-mount immunohistochemistry, automated high-content imaging, and efficient data processing using programming language prior to statistical analysis. To current knowledge, this method is the first to successfully detect and quantify 5-mC levels in situ within zebrafish embryos during early development. The method enables the detection of DNA methylation within the cell mass and also has the ability to detect cytosine methylation of yolk-localized maternal mRNAs during the maternal-to-zygotic transition. Overall, this method will be useful for the rapid identification of chemicals that have the potential to disrupt cytosine methylation in situ during epigenetic reprogramming.

The overall aim of this protocol is to determine whether a treatment affects the relative abundance of 5-mC by assessing the total area and relative intensity of fluorescence within fixed and labeled zebrafish embryos. After completing the protocol, a fluorescence stereomicroscope can be used to first determine whether the whole-mount IHC was successful. When labeled embryos are observed under a FITC or GFP filter, a positive result is indicated by a positive FITC signal within the embryo, whereas a negative result is in...

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Rapid and Efficient Spatiotemporal Monitoring of Normal and Aberrant Cytosine Methylation within Intact Zebrafish Embryos

This paper describes a protocol for the rapid and efficient spatiotemporal monitoring of normal and aberrant cytosine methylation within intact zebrafish embryos.

Cytosine methylation is highly conserved across vertebrate species and, as a key driver of epigenetic programming and chromatin state, plays a critical ...

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Research

JoVE Journal

Developmental Biology

1.3K Views.  University of California, Riverside. This paper describes a protocol for the rapid and efficient spatiotemporal monitoring of normal and aberrant cytosine methylation within intact zebrafish embryos. 

Video: Rapid and Efficient Spatiotemporal Monitoring of Normal and Aberrant Cytosine Methylation within Intact Zebrafish Embryos

Isolation and Characterization of Single Cells from Zebrafish Embryos

The zebrafish (Danio rerio) is a powerful model organism to study vertebrate development. Though many aspects of zebrafish embryonic development have been described at the morphological level, little is known about the molecular basis of cellular changes that occur as the organism develops. With recent advancements in microfluidics and multiplexing technologies, it is now possible to characterize gene expression in single cells. This allows for investigation of heterogeneity between individual cells of specific cell populations to identify and classify cell subtypes, characterize intermediate states that occur during cell differentiation, and explore differential cellular responses to stimuli. This study describes a protocol to isolate viable, single cells from zebrafish embryos for high throughput multiplexing assays. This method may be rapidly applied to any zebrafish embryonic cell type with fluorescent markers. An extension of this method may also be used in combination with high throughput sequencing technologies to fully characterize the transcriptome of single cells. As proof of principle, the relative abundance of cardiac differentiation markers was assessed in isolated, single cells derived from nkx2.5 positive cardiac progenitors. By evaluation of gene expression at the single cell level and at a single time point, the data support a model in which cardiac progenitors coexist with differentiating progeny. The method and work flow described here is broadly applicable to the zebrafish research community, requiring only a labeled transgenic fish line and access to microfluidics technologies.

This protocol describes a method for isolating single cells from zebrafish embryos, enriching for cells of interest, capturing zebrafish cells in microfluidic based single cell multiplex systems, and assessing gene expression from single cells.

The zebrafish (Danio rerio) is a powerful model organism to study vertebrate development. Though many aspects of zebrafish embryonic development have been ...

Affinity Labeling Detection of Endogenous Receptors from Zebrafish Embryos

By combining the powers of Affinity Labeling and Immunoprecipitation (AFLIP), a technique for the detection of low abundance receptors in zebrafish embryos has been implemented. This technique takes advantage of the selectivity and sensitivity conferred by affinity labeling of a given receptor by its ligand with the specificity of the immunoprecipitation. We have used AFLIP to detect the type III TGF-&#946; receptor (TGFBR3), also know as betaglycan, during early zebrafish development. AFLIP was instrumental in validating the efficacy of a TGFBR3 morphant zebrafish phenotype. In the first step, embryo protein extracts are prepared and used to generate 125I-TGF-&#946;2-TGFBR3 complexes that are purified by immunoprecipitation. Later, these complexes are covalently cross-linked and revealed using SDS-PAGE separation and autoradiography detection. This technique requires the availability of a labeled ligand for, and a specific antibody against, the receptor to be detected, and shall be easily adapted to identify any growth factor or cytokine receptor that meets these requirements.

A novel technique for the detection of low abundance endogenous receptors present in zebrafish embryos is described. We have named it AFLIP because it consists of affinity labeling of the receptor by its ligand linked to immunoprecipitation.

By combining the powers of Affinity Labeling and Immunoprecipitation (AFLIP), a technique for the detection of low abundance receptors in zebrafish ...

Biosensing Motor Neuron Membrane Potential in Live Zebrafish Embryos

The protocols described here are designed to allow researchers to study cell communication without altering the integrity of the environment in which the cells are located. Specifically, they have been developed to analyze the electrical activity of excitable cells, such as spinal neurons. In such a scenario, it is crucial to preserve the integrity of the spinal cell, but it is also important to preserve the anatomy and physiological shape of the systems involved. Indeed, the comprehension of the manner in which the nervous system-and other complex systems-works must be based on a systemic approach. For this reason, the live zebrafish embryo was chosen as a model system, and the spinal neuron membrane voltage changes were evaluated without interfering with the physiological conditions of the embryos. 
Here, an approach combining the employment of zebrafish embryos with a FRET-based biosensor is described. Zebrafish embryos are characterized by a very simplified nervous system and are particularly suited for imaging applications thanks to their transparency, allowing for the employment of fluorescence-based voltage indicators at the plasma membrane during zebrafish development. The synergy between these two components makes it possible to analyze the electrical activity of the cells in intact living organisms, without perturbing the physiological state. Finally, this non-invasive approach can co-exist with other analyses (e.g., spontaneous movement recordings, as shown here).

Protocols described here allow for the study of the electrical properties of excitable cells in the most non-invasive physiological conditions by employing zebrafish embryos in an in vivo system together with a fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based genetically encoded voltage indicator (GEVI) selectively expressed in the cell type of interest.

The protocols described here are designed to allow researchers to study cell communication without altering the integrity of the environment in which the ...

Induction of Hypoxia in Living Frog and Zebrafish Embryos

Here, we introduce a novel system for hypoxia induction, which we developed to study the effects of hypoxia in aquatic organisms such as frog and zebrafish embryos. Our system comprises a chamber featuring a simple setup that is nevertheless robust to induce and maintain a specific oxygen concentration and temperature in any experimental solution of choice. The presented system is very cost-effective but highly functional, it allows induction and sustainment of hypoxia for direct experiments in vivo and for various time periods up to 48 h.
To monitor and study the effects of hypoxia, we have employed two methods - measurement of levels of hypoxia-inducible factor 1alpha (HIF-1&#945;) in whole embryos or specific tissues and determination of retinal stem cell proliferation by 5-ethynyl-2&#8242;-deoxyuridine (EdU) incorporation into the DNA. HIF-1&#945; levels can serve as a general hypoxia marker in the whole embryo or tissue of choice, here embryonic retina. EdU incorporation into the proliferating cells of embryonic retina is a specific output of hypoxia induction. Thus, we have shown that hypoxic embryonic retinal progenitors decrease proliferation within 1 h of incubation under 5% oxygen of both frog and zebrafish embryos.
Once mastered, our setup can be employed for use with small aquatic model organisms, for direct in vivo experiments, any given time period and under normal, hypoxic or hyperoxic oxygen concentration or under any other given gas mixture.

We introduce a novel hypoxic chamber system for use with aquatic organisms such as frog and zebrafish embryos. Our system is simple, robust, cost-effective and allows the induction and sustainment of hypoxia in vivo and for up to 48 h. We present 2 reproducible methods to monitor the effectiveness of hypoxia.

Here, we introduce a novel system for hypoxia induction, which we developed to study the effects of hypoxia in aquatic organisms such as frog and ...

Single-cell Photoconversion in Living Intact Zebrafish

Animal and plant tissue is composed of distinct populations of cells. These cells interact over time to build and maintain the tissue and can cause disease when disrupted. Scientists have developed clever techniques to investigate characteristics and natural dynamics of these cells within intact tissue by expressing fluorescent proteins in subsets of cells. However, at times, experiments require more selected visualization of cells within the tissue, sometimes at the single-cell or population-of-cells manner. To achieve this and visualize single cells within a population of cells, scientists have utilized single-cell photoconversion of fluorescent proteins. To demonstrate this technique, we show here how to direct UV light to an Eos-expressing cell of interest in an intact, living zebrafish. We then image those photoconverted Eos+ cells 24 h later to determine how they changed in the tissue. We describe two techniques: single cell photoconversion and photoconversions of populations of cell. These techniques can be used to visualize cell-cell interactions, cell-fate and differentiation, and cell migrations, making it a technique that is applicable in numerous biological questions.

Here, we present a protocol to show how cell photoconversion is achieved through UV exposure to specific areas expressing the fluorescent protein, Eos, in living animals.

Animal and plant tissue is composed of distinct populations of cells. These cells interact over time to build and maintain the tissue and can cause ...

Visualization of Cellular Electrical Activity in Zebrafish Early Embryos and Tumors

Bioelectricity, endogenous electrical signaling mediated by ion channels and pumps located on the cell membrane, plays important roles in signaling processes of excitable neuronal and muscular cells and many other biological processes, such as embryonic developmental patterning. However, there is a need for in vivo electrical activity monitoring in vertebrate embryogenesis. The advances of genetically encoded fluorescent voltage indicators (GEVIs) have made it possible to provide a solution for this challenge. Here, we describe how to create a transgenic voltage indicator zebrafish using the established voltage indicator, ASAP1 (Accelerated Sensor of Action Potentials 1), as an example. The Tol2 kit and a ubiquitous zebrafish promoter, ubi, were chosen in this study. We also explain&#160;the processes of Gateway site-specific cloning, Tol2 transposon-based zebrafish transgenesis, and the imaging process for early-stage fish embryos and fish tumors using regular epifluorescent microscopes. Using this fish line, we found that there are cellular electric voltage changes during zebrafish embryogenesis, and fish larval movement. Furthermore, it was observed that in a few zebrafish malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors, the tumor cells were generally polarized compared to the surrounding normal tissues.

Here, we show the process of creating a cellular electric voltage reporter zebrafish line to visualize embryonic development, movement, and fish tumor cells in vivo.

Bioelectricity, endogenous electrical signaling mediated by ion channels and pumps located on the cell membrane, plays important roles in signaling ...

Fast and Efficient Expression of Multiple Proteins in Avian Embryos Using mRNA Electroporation

We report that mRNA electroporation permits fluorescent proteins to label cells in living quail embryos more quickly and broadly than DNA electroporation. The high transfection efficiency permits at least 4 distinct mRNAs to be co-transfected with ~87% efficiency. Most of the electroporated mRNAs are degraded during the first 2 h post-electroporation, permitting time-sensitive experiments to be carried out in the developing embryo. Finally, we describe how to dynamically image live embryos electroporated with mRNAs that encode various subcellular targeted fluorescent proteins.

We report messenger RNA (mRNA) electroporation as a method that permits fast and efficient expression of multiple proteins in the quail embryo model system. This method can be used to fluorescently label cells and record their in vivo movements by time-lapse microscopy shortly after electroporation.

We report that mRNA electroporation permits fluorescent proteins to label cells in living quail embryos more quickly and broadly than DNA electroporation. ...

Whole Mount Immunohistochemistry in Zebrafish Embryos and Larvae

Immunohistochemistry is a widely used technique to explore protein expression and localization during both normal developmental and disease states. Although many immunohistochemistry protocols have been optimized for mammalian tissue and tissue sections, these protocols often require modification and optimization for non-mammalian model organisms. Zebrafish are increasingly used as a model system in basic, biomedical, and translational research to investigate the molecular, genetic, and cell biological mechanisms of developmental processes. Zebrafish offer many advantages as a model system but also require modified techniques for optimal protein detection. Here, we provide our protocol for whole-mount fluorescence immunohistochemistry in zebrafish embryos and larvae. This protocol additionally describes several different mounting strategies that can be employed and an overview of the advantages and disadvantages each strategy provides. We also describe modifications to this protocol to allow detection of chromogenic substrates in whole mount tissue and fluorescence detection in sectioned larval tissue. This protocol is broadly applicable to the study of many developmental stages and embryonic structures.

Here, we present a protocol for fluorescent antibody-mediated detection of proteins in whole preparations of zebrafish embryos and larvae.

Immunohistochemistry is a widely used technique to explore protein expression and localization during both normal developmental and disease states. ...

Separation of Follicular Cells and Oocytes in Ovarian Follicles of Zebrafish

Zebrafish has become an ideal model to study the ovarian development of vertebrates. The follicle is the basic unit of the ovary, which consists of oocytes and surrounding follicular cells. It is vital to separate both follicular cells and oocytes for various research purposes such as for primary culture of follicular cells, analysis of gene expression, oocyte maturation and in vitro fertilization, etc. The conventional method uses forceps to separate both compartments, which is laborious, time consuming and has high damage to the oocyte. Here, we have established a simple method to separate both compartments using a pulled glass capillary. Under a stereomicroscope, oocytes and follicular cells can be easily separated by pipetting in a pulled fine glass capillary (the diameter depends on the follicle diameter). Compared with the conventional method, this new method has high efficiency in separating both oocytes and follicular cells and has low damage to the oocytes. More importantly, this method can be applied to early-stage follicles including at the pre-vitellogenesis stage. Thus, this simple method can be used to separate follicular cells and oocytes of zebrafish.

Here, we present a simple method for separating follicular cells and oocytes in zebrafish ovarian follicles, which will facilitate investigations of ovarian development in zebrafish.

Zebrafish has become an ideal model to study the ovarian development of vertebrates. The follicle is the basic unit of the ovary, which consists of ...

A Simple and Effective Transplantation Device for Zebrafish Embryos

Classical embryological manipulations, such as removing cells and transplanting cells within or between embryos, are powerful techniques to study complex developmental processes. Zebrafish embryos are ideally suited for these manipulations since they are easily accessible, relatively large in size, and transparent. However, previously developed devices for cell removal and transplantation are cumbersome to use or expensive to purchase. In contrast, the transplantation device presented here is economical, easy to assemble, and simple to use. In this protocol, we first introduce the handling of the transplantation device as well as its assembly from commercially and widely available parts. We then present three applications for its use: generation of ectopic clones to study signal dispersal from localized sources, extirpation of cells to produce size-reduced embryos, and germline transplantation to generate maternal-zygotic mutants. Finally, we show that the tool can also be used for embryological manipulations in other species such as the Japanese rice fish medaka.

Embryological manipulations such as extirpation and transplantation of cells are important tools to study early development. This protocol describes a simple and effective transplantation device to perform these manipulations in zebrafish embryos.

Classical embryological manipulations, such as removing cells and transplanting cells within or between embryos, are powerful techniques to study complex ...