{"id":1642,"date":"2026-01-22T10:20:57","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T15:20:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/cobre\/?p=1642"},"modified":"2026-01-22T10:20:57","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T15:20:57","slug":"mdi-biological-laboratory-researchers-develop-new-zebrafish-model-to-study-muscle-atrophy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/cobre\/2026\/01\/22\/mdi-biological-laboratory-researchers-develop-new-zebrafish-model-to-study-muscle-atrophy\/","title":{"rendered":"MDI Biological Laboratory Researchers Develop New Zebrafish Model to Study Muscle Atrophy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Associate Professor <strong>Romain Madelaine, Ph.D.<\/strong>, doctoral candidate <strong>Romain Menard<\/strong>, and colleagues at the MDI Biological Laboratory have developed a new transgenic zebrafish model to study muscle atrophy, a condition associated with aging and neuromuscular disease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a study published in <em>PLOS Genetics<\/em>, the research team describes the creation of the \u201c<strong>atrofish<\/strong>,\u201d a zebrafish engineered to induce rapid muscle degeneration by activating Atrogin-1 (Fbxo32) in skeletal muscle. The model exhibits reduced muscle strength and impaired movement, allowing researchers to observe early molecular and cellular changes that occur before visible muscle deterioration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition to muscle loss, the findings suggest that muscle atrophy may be linked to broader changes in neuromuscular connections and spinal cord neurons. This zebrafish model provides a powerful new tool for investigating the mechanisms underlying sarcopenia and for testing potential therapeutic strategies aimed at preserving muscle health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Read the full article in <em>PLOS Genetics<\/em>.<\/strong><br><a href=\"https:\/\/journals.plos.org\/plosgenetics\/article?id=10.1371\/journal.pgen.1012019\">https:\/\/journals.plos.org\/plosgenetics\/article?id=10.1371\/journal.pgen.1012019<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Associate Professor Romain Madelaine, Ph.D., doctoral candidate Romain Menard, and colleagues at the MDI Biological Laboratory have developed a new transgenic zebrafish model to study muscle atrophy, a condition associated with aging and neuromuscular disease. In a study published in PLOS Genetics, the research team describes the creation of the \u201catrofish,\u201d a zebrafish engineered to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2564,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1642","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>MDI Biological Laboratory Researchers Develop New Zebrafish Model to Study Muscle Atrophy - Center for Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) - University of Maine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/cobre\/2026\/01\/22\/mdi-biological-laboratory-researchers-develop-new-zebrafish-model-to-study-muscle-atrophy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"MDI Biological Laboratory Researchers Develop New Zebrafish Model to Study Muscle Atrophy - Center for Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) - University of Maine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Associate Professor Romain Madelaine, Ph.D., doctoral candidate Romain Menard, and colleagues at the MDI Biological Laboratory have developed a new transgenic zebrafish model to study muscle atrophy, a condition associated with aging and neuromuscular disease. 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