Also important for FASD research is the fact that the genomes of these simple vertebrates are completely sequenced and many of the genes have a mammalian counterpart. However, like with C. elegans, the developmental process and the physiology between these species and a human are very different. An advantage of using simple vertebrates over invertebrates such as C. elegans is that simple behaviors can be tested in both zebrafish and clawed frogs. This means that these animals can be used to assess functional deficits following PNEE as well as anatomical or physiological deficits (148). However, ethanol application using these organisms must still occur through bath application, with ethanol having to infiltrate the chorion of the egg, so actual concentrations of ethanol that the embryo is exposed to can be highly variable and large doses of ethanol are needed to ensure that adequate amounts cross into the embryo (binge-like exposure) (150, 151).
