This is the kind of work that is going on inside the University of Manitoba’s new $2.5 million Rady Biomedical Fish Facility at the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences.

Doctors Devi Atukorallaya and Benjamin Lindsey are spearheading the efforts inside the facility—the most advanced in the prairies. It houses about 2,000 zebrafish and 250 Mexican tetras.

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The new Rady Biomedical Fish Facility in the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences is outfitted with cutting-edge equipment for studying two freshwater species: zebrafish and Mexican tetra fish.

Among the qualities that make these vertebrates fascinating to researchers is their capacity to regenerate body parts. If they’re injured, they can heal themselves.

They also grow and shed many sets of teeth over their lifespan. Genetic understanding of this ability might help pave the way for dentists of the future to regenerate patients’ teeth.

“We are honoured to be part of this world-class research facility,” said Jennifer Cleary, CEO of Research Manitoba, which contributed to funding the new equipment.     

The facility, located in the basement of the Chown Building, currently houses about 2,000 zebrafish and 250 Mexican tetras. The fish tanks are stored in a state-of-the-art, multi-rack holding system that automatically maintains every aspect of water quality.

The Rady Biomedical Fish Facility was spearheaded by two scientists who are co-leading it: Dr. Devi Atukorallaya, associate professor of oral biology at the Dr. Gerald Niznick College of Dentistry, and Dr. Benjamin Lindsey, assistant professor of human anatomy and cell science at the Max Rady College of Medicine.

“We now have the most advanced facility for small laboratory fish on the Prairies, in terms of equipment and technologies. We’re leading players in this,” Lindsey says.

“We encourage other Manitoba scientists to learn about the potential of these animals for health research and collaboration. One advantage is that fish are more cost-effective for research than small mammals, such as mice.”

“The developmental genetic pathways in these fish are remarkably similar to those in humans,” Atukorallaya notes. “About 70 per cent of the genes are the same as human genes.” 

Dr. Devi Atukorallaya

Atukorallaya, a dentist and scientist, is the only researcher in Canada using the Mexican tetra species for biomedical research.

She conducts experiments with both Mexican tetra and zebrafish to gain insight into skull and facial development in human embryos. “The fish embryos are transparent, so under the microscope I can study how the bones, teeth, organs and sensory systems develop. This helps us to understand human congenital malformations, such as cleft palate.”

The Mexican tetra species has evolved into two types that are of great genetic interest: pale-coloured cave fish that have no eyes and an abnormal face shape because they live in total darkness – but have other highly developed senses – and surface-dwelling fish that do have eyes.

Atukorallaya has several research projects underway. In one, she has been the first in the world to expose fish eggs to alcohol in order to study abnormalities of tooth and tastebud development that correspond to fetal alcohol spectrum disorder in humans.

Zebrafish are used worldwide in biomedical research, Lindsey says. They can serve as a model for many human diseases, including cancer, diabetes and heart disease.

Lindsey, a neuroscientist, is one of a handful of Canadian researchers using zebrafish to study brain and spinal cord injury. His focus is on investigating the species’ extraordinary ability to self-repair.

Dr. Benjamin Lindsey

“The neural stem cells in zebrafish are very good at regenerating tissue after trauma. If we can discover how they do this, it could one day lead to treatments for humans with brain injuries or neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson’s.”

When Lindsey’s team works with zebrafish, different parts of some fish are “tagged” with harmless fluorescent colours that allow the researchers to see cells of interest in the brain or spinal cord.

Lindsey is also interested in using fish to study the plasticity of the brain – its capacity to “rewire” its networks.

The Rady Faculty of Health Sciences invested about $1.5 million into renovating the facility space. The equipment was funded by joint grants received by Atukorallaya and Lindsey from the Canada Foundation for Innovation John R. Evans Leaders Fund and Research Manitoba ($843,000) and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council ($90,000).

The features of the Rady Biomedical Fish Facility include:

• Incubators for fish eggs;
• A high-end confocal microscope that captures fluorescent images of fish;
• A micro-injection station that enables researchers to inject fish or larvae with tiny volumes of chemical solutions;
• A system for studying the behaviour of adult fish or larvae that includes video cameras to record the animals’ movements, plus sophisticated software that analyzes variables, such as the speed of swimming or an aversion to bitter-tasting food. One application of this setup is to study fish learning and memory.

Watch an Instagram video about the fish facility opening. 

A number of Rady Faculty of Health Sciences researchers are back on the Bannatyne campus – specifically those who cannot work remotely and to a 50 per cent capacity of occupancy – after the threat of COVID-19 forced their labs to close in mid-march.

The first thing Dr. Devi Atukorallaya did when she received approval to return to campus in mid-June was visit her fish.

The assistant professor of oral biology in the Dr. Gerald Niznick College of Dentistry uses fish models in her work to understand the genetic basis of head and neck birth defects.

One of Atukorallaya’s main concerns while being away from her lab was the maintenance of her experimental animal models. However, the Mexican tetra and zebra fish were well looked after and she received regular updates about her colony from Central Animal Care Services (CACS) staff.

“The colony was very well maintained,” she said. “We are really grateful to the CACS because they did an exceptional job.”

While Atukorallaya is happy to be back in her lab she said it took a bit of time to get used to the new safety protocols.

Dr. Tamra Werbowetski-Ogilvie, an associate professor of biochemistry and medical genetics in the Max Rady College of Medicine and a Canada Research Chair in neuro-oncology and human stem cells, now wears a mask in her lab.

Those working in labs are encouraged to wear a mask at all times, but only required to do so when social distancing is not possible. Everyone in labs is required to sanitize or wash their hands, keep two-meters apart and disinfect areas and equipment before and after using. The number of people allowed in the labs has also been reduced.

“It’s the new norm,” Atukorallaya said. “I respect these measures because they’re necessary. This is how Manitoba has controlled this disease.”

Dr. Dake Qi, an assistant professor in the College of Pharmacy, couldn’t wait to return to the lab.

“We are very happy to come back to work,” said Qi, whose research focuses on a protein molecule called macrophage migration inhibitory factor that plays a key role in regulating many diseases. “We are doing biomedical research so we can’t do all of the work at home.”

After three months away from the lab, a lot had to be done before Qi and his team could conduct any experiments. They spent the first week cleaning and taking an inventory of the lab.

Qi has had to ease into his research because less personnel are allowed in the labs and only for a limited number of hours. However, he said they are adapting nicely. 

“Our experiments are going well so far,” he said. “But compared to before it’s still a bit slow. We are getting used to the new conditions and new rules.”

Dr. Tamra Werbowetski-Ogilvie, an associate professor of biochemistry and medical genetics in the Max Rady College of Medicine and a Canada Research Chair in neuro-oncology and human stem cells, was excited to reopen her lab. What she missed most was the in-person interaction with faculty, staff and students.

“It’s nice to be face-to-face – or rather, mask-to-mask – with people again,” said Werbowetski-Ogilvie, whose research focuses on medulloblastoma, the most common type of cancerous brain tumour in children. “I missed brainstorming in person, being able to look at cells whenever I want and chitchatting with my staff and colleagues about science and non-science related matters. It is that social part.”

Werbowetski-Ogilvie said that it’s crucial that health research continues.

“Cancer, neurodegenerative diseases and different types of ailments aren’t going away, whether COVID sticks around or not,” she said. “It’s critical that we continue the momentum to the best of our ability in all of these disease-related areas. I think it’s extremely important that we continue the work even if it’s in a limited capacity.”