Over the last decade, the zebrafish has cemented itself as a unique model system for providing new insights into the regulatory factors required for vertebrate hematopoiesis. In particular, the ease of genetic manipulation together with the transparency of embryos facilitating high-resolution imaging, has enabled the fate mapping of a host of blood cell lineages including the detailed evaluation of the origin and emergence of hematopoietic stem cells. In addition to its clear role as a model in which to study developmental hematopoiesis, the genetic conservation between zebrafish and mammals and the construction of well-annotated detailed genomic databases have permitted the use of a number of forward and reverse genetic approaches to study a variety of benign and malignant human blood disorders in this organism. These studies have elucidated new molecular players contributing to the pathogenesis of human disease phenotypes and provide a platform for the next generation of genetic and chemical modifier screens. Conserved hematopoietic cell function also extends to immune cells, fueling a recent growth of research focused on exploiting the advantages of the zebrafish system to examine vertebrate host-pathogen interactions and the contributions of individual cell types to innate and adaptive immune responses.

We invite investigators to contribute to this special edition their original research articles as well as review articles that will highlight recent advances in the fields of zebrafish hematopoiesis, blood disease modeling, and immunology in a historical and clinical translational context. Papers should include novel findings, technical achievements, and potential translational applicability. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

• Zebrafish hematopoiesis (incorporating mutants, morpholino-based strategies, etc.)
• Cell lineage-tracing studies
• Development of transgenic reporter lines
• Modeling hematopoietic diseases
• Chemical screens
• Genetic screens (insertional, ENU, targeted)
• Host-pathogen studies (embryonic, adult)
• Role of zebrafish immune cells
• Xenotransplantation
• Hematopoietic reconstitution
• Hemostasis/coagulation

Before submission authors should carefully read over the journal's Author Guidelines, which are located at http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ah/guidelines/. Prospective authors should submit an electronic copy of their complete manuscript through the journal Manuscript Tracking System at http://mts.hindawi.com/ according to the following timetable: