Model organism
Encyclopedia
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Non-human
Non-human is a term used to refer to non-human actors. Its use marks a shift in how the role of humans is perceived and discussed...
species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
that is extensively studied to understand particular biological
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
phenomena, with the expectation that discoveries made in the organism model will provide insight into the workings of other organisms. Model organisms are in vivo
In vivo
In vivo is experimentation using a whole, living organism as opposed to a partial or dead organism, or an in vitro controlled environment. Animal testing and clinical trials are two forms of in vivo research...
models and are widely used to research human disease
Disease
A disease is an abnormal condition affecting the body of an organism. It is often construed to be a medical condition associated with specific symptoms and signs. It may be caused by external factors, such as infectious disease, or it may be caused by internal dysfunctions, such as autoimmune...
when human experimentation
Human experimentation
Human subject research includes experiments and observational studies. Human subjects are commonly participants in research on basic biology, clinical medicine, nursing, psychology, and all other social sciences. Humans have been participants in research since the earliest studies...
would be unfeasible or unethical
Bioethics
Bioethics is the study of controversial ethics brought about by advances in biology and medicine. Bioethicists are concerned with the ethical questions that arise in the relationships among life sciences, biotechnology, medicine, politics, law, and philosophy....
. This strategy is made possible by the common descent
Common descent
In evolutionary biology, a group of organisms share common descent if they have a common ancestor. There is strong quantitative support for the theory that all living organisms on Earth are descended from a common ancestor....
of all living organisms, and the conservation of metabolic
Metabolic pathway
In biochemistry, metabolic pathways are series of chemical reactions occurring within a cell. In each pathway, a principal chemical is modified by a series of chemical reactions. Enzymes catalyze these reactions, and often require dietary minerals, vitamins, and other cofactors in order to function...
and developmental
Developmental biology
Developmental biology is the study of the process by which organisms grow and develop. Modern developmental biology studies the genetic control of cell growth, differentiation and "morphogenesis", which is the process that gives rise to tissues, organs and anatomy.- Related fields of study...
pathways and genetic material over the course of evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
.
Studying model organisms can be informative, but care must be taken when extrapolating from one organism to another.
Selecting a model organism
Models are those organisms with a wealth of biological data that make them attractive to study as examples for other speciesSpecies
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
and/or natural phenomena that are more difficult to study directly. Continual research on these organisms focus on a wide variety of experimental techniques and goals from many different levels of biology--from ecology
Ecology
Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
, behavior
Behavior
Behavior or behaviour refers to the actions and mannerisms made by organisms, systems, or artificial entities in conjunction with its environment, which includes the other systems or organisms around as well as the physical environment...
, and biomechanics
Biomechanics
Biomechanics is the application of mechanical principles to biological systems, such as humans, animals, plants, organs, and cells. Perhaps one of the best definitions was provided by Herbert Hatze in 1974: "Biomechanics is the study of the structure and function of biological systems by means of...
, down to the tiny functional scale of individual tissues
Tissue (biology)
Tissue is a cellular organizational level intermediate between cells and a complete organism. A tissue is an ensemble of cells, not necessarily identical, but from the same origin, that together carry out a specific function. These are called tissues because of their identical functioning...
, organelles
Organelle
In cell biology, an organelle is a specialized subunit within a cell that has a specific function, and is usually separately enclosed within its own lipid bilayer....
, and proteins
Protein
Proteins are biochemical compounds consisting of one or more polypeptides typically folded into a globular or fibrous form, facilitating a biological function. A polypeptide is a single linear polymer chain of amino acids bonded together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of...
. Inquiries about the DNA of organisms are classed as genetic
Genetics
Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....
models (with short generation times, such as the fruitfly
Drosophila melanogaster
Drosophila melanogaster is a species of Diptera, or the order of flies, in the family Drosophilidae. The species is known generally as the common fruit fly or vinegar fly. Starting from Charles W...
and nematode
Nematode
The nematodes or roundworms are the most diverse phylum of pseudocoelomates, and one of the most diverse of all animals. Nematode species are very difficult to distinguish; over 28,000 have been described, of which over 16,000 are parasitic. It has been estimated that the total number of nematode...
worm), experimental models, and genomic parsimony models, investigating pivotal position in the evolutionary tree. Historically, model organisms include a handful of species with extensive genomic research data, such as the NIH model organisms.
Often, model organisms are chosen on the basis that they are amenable to experimental manipulation. This usually will include characteristics such as short life-cycle
Biological life cycle
A life cycle is a period involving all different generations of a species succeeding each other through means of reproduction, whether through asexual reproduction or sexual reproduction...
, techniques for genetic manipulation (inbred
Inbreeding
Inbreeding is the reproduction from the mating of two genetically related parents. Inbreeding results in increased homozygosity, which can increase the chances of offspring being affected by recessive or deleterious traits. This generally leads to a decreased fitness of a population, which is...
strains, stem cell
Stem cell
This article is about the cell type. For the medical therapy, see Stem Cell TreatmentsStem cells are biological cells found in all multicellular organisms, that can divide and differentiate into diverse specialized cell types and can self-renew to produce more stem cells...
lines, and methods of transformation
Transformation (genetics)
In molecular biology transformation is the genetic alteration of a cell resulting from the direct uptake, incorporation and expression of exogenous genetic material from its surroundings and taken up through the cell membrane. Transformation occurs naturally in some species of bacteria, but it can...
) and non-specialist living requirements. Sometimes, the genome arrangement facilitates the sequencing of the model organism's genome, for example, by being very compact or having a low proportion of junk DNA (e.g. yeast
Yeast
Yeasts are eukaryotic micro-organisms classified in the kingdom Fungi, with 1,500 species currently described estimated to be only 1% of all fungal species. Most reproduce asexually by mitosis, and many do so by an asymmetric division process called budding...
, Arabidopsis
Arabidopsis
Arabidopsis is a genus in the family Brassicaceae. They are small flowering plants related to cabbage and mustard. This genus is of great interest since it contains thale cress , one of the model organisms used for studying plant biology and the first plant to have its entire genome sequenced...
, or pufferfish
Pufferfish
Tetraodontidae is a family of primarily marine and estuarine fish of the Tetraodontiformes order. The family includes many familiar species which are variously called pufferfish, balloonfish, blowfish, bubblefish, globefish, swellfish, toadfish, toadies, honey toads, sugar toads, and sea squab...
).
When researchers look for an organism to use in their studies, they look for several traits. Among these are size, generation time, accessibility, manipulation, genetics, conservation of mechanisms, and potential economic benefit. As comparative molecular biology
Molecular biology
Molecular biology is the branch of biology that deals with the molecular basis of biological activity. This field overlaps with other areas of biology and chemistry, particularly genetics and biochemistry...
has become more common, some researchers have sought model organisms from a wider assortment of lineages on the tree of life
Tree of life (science)
Charles Darwin proposed that phylogeny, the evolutionary relatedness among species through time, was expressible as a metaphor he termed the Tree of Life...
.
Use of model organisms
There are many model organisms. One of the first model systems for molecular biologyMolecular biology
Molecular biology is the branch of biology that deals with the molecular basis of biological activity. This field overlaps with other areas of biology and chemistry, particularly genetics and biochemistry...
was the bacterium Escherichia coli, a common constituent of the human digestive system. Several of the bacterial viruses (bacteriophage
Bacteriophage
A bacteriophage is any one of a number of viruses that infect bacteria. They do this by injecting genetic material, which they carry enclosed in an outer protein capsid...
) that infect E. coli
Escherichia coli
Escherichia coli is a Gram-negative, rod-shaped bacterium that is commonly found in the lower intestine of warm-blooded organisms . Most E. coli strains are harmless, but some serotypes can cause serious food poisoning in humans, and are occasionally responsible for product recalls...
also have been very useful for the study of gene structure and gene regulation (e.g. phages Lambda
Lambda phage
Enterobacteria phage λ is a temperate bacteriophage that infects Escherichia coli.Lambda phage is a virus particle consisting of a head, containing double-stranded linear DNA as its genetic material, and a tail that can have tail fibers. The phage particle recognizes and binds to its host, E...
and T4
Enterobacteria phage T4
Enterobacteria phage T4 is a bacteriophage that infects E. coli bacteria. Its DNA is 169–170 kbp long, and is held in an icosahedral head. T4 is a relatively large phage, at approximately 90 nm wide and 200 nm long...
). However, bacteriophages are not organisms because they lack metabolism and depend on functions of the host cells for propagation.
In eukaryote
Eukaryote
A eukaryote is an organism whose cells contain complex structures enclosed within membranes. Eukaryotes may more formally be referred to as the taxon Eukarya or Eukaryota. The defining membrane-bound structure that sets eukaryotic cells apart from prokaryotic cells is the nucleus, or nuclear...
s, several yeasts, particularly Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a species of yeast. It is perhaps the most useful yeast, having been instrumental to baking and brewing since ancient times. It is believed that it was originally isolated from the skin of grapes...
("baker's" or "budding" yeast), have been widely used in genetics
Genetics
Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....
and cell biology
Cell biology
Cell biology is a scientific discipline that studies cells – their physiological properties, their structure, the organelles they contain, interactions with their environment, their life cycle, division and death. This is done both on a microscopic and molecular level...
, largely because they are quick and easy to grow. The cell cycle
Cell cycle
The cell cycle, or cell-division cycle, is the series of events that takes place in a cell leading to its division and duplication . In cells without a nucleus , the cell cycle occurs via a process termed binary fission...
in a simple yeast
Yeast
Yeasts are eukaryotic micro-organisms classified in the kingdom Fungi, with 1,500 species currently described estimated to be only 1% of all fungal species. Most reproduce asexually by mitosis, and many do so by an asymmetric division process called budding...
is very similar to the cell cycle in human
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
s and is regulated by homologous
Homology (biology)
Homology forms the basis of organization for comparative biology. In 1843, Richard Owen defined homology as "the same organ in different animals under every variety of form and function". Organs as different as a bat's wing, a seal's flipper, a cat's paw and a human hand have a common underlying...
proteins. The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster
Drosophila melanogaster
Drosophila melanogaster is a species of Diptera, or the order of flies, in the family Drosophilidae. The species is known generally as the common fruit fly or vinegar fly. Starting from Charles W...
is studied, again, because it is easy to grow for an animal, has various visible congenital traits and has a polytene (giant) chromosome in its salivary glands that can be examined under a light microscope. The roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans
Caenorhabditis elegans
Caenorhabditis elegans is a free-living, transparent nematode , about 1 mm in length, which lives in temperate soil environments. Research into the molecular and developmental biology of C. elegans was begun in 1974 by Sydney Brenner and it has since been used extensively as a model...
is studied because it has very defined development patterns involving fixed numbers of cells, and it can be rapidly assayed for abnormalities.
Viruses
VirusVirus
A virus is a small infectious agent that can replicate only inside the living cells of organisms. Viruses infect all types of organisms, from animals and plants to bacteria and archaea...
es include:
- Phage LambdaLambda phageEnterobacteria phage λ is a temperate bacteriophage that infects Escherichia coli.Lambda phage is a virus particle consisting of a head, containing double-stranded linear DNA as its genetic material, and a tail that can have tail fibers. The phage particle recognizes and binds to its host, E...
- Phi X 174 - its genomeGenomeIn modern molecular biology and genetics, the genome is the entirety of an organism's hereditary information. It is encoded either in DNA or, for many types of virus, in RNA. The genome includes both the genes and the non-coding sequences of the DNA/RNA....
was the first ever to be sequenced. The genome is a circle of 11 geneGeneA gene is a molecular unit of heredity of a living organism. It is a name given to some stretches of DNA and RNA that code for a type of protein or for an RNA chain that has a function in the organism. Living beings depend on genes, as they specify all proteins and functional RNA chains...
s, 5386 base pairBase pairIn molecular biology and genetics, the linking between two nitrogenous bases on opposite complementary DNA or certain types of RNA strands that are connected via hydrogen bonds is called a base pair...
s in length. - Tobacco mosaic virusTobacco mosaic virusTobacco mosaic virus is a positive-sense single stranded RNA virus that infects plants, especially tobacco and other members of the family Solanaceae. The infection causes characteristic patterns on the leaves . TMV was the first virus to be discovered...
Prokaryotes
Prokaryote
The prokaryotes are a group of organisms that lack a cell nucleus , or any other membrane-bound organelles. The organisms that have a cell nucleus are called eukaryotes. Most prokaryotes are unicellular, but a few such as myxobacteria have multicellular stages in their life cycles...
s include:
- Escherichia coliEscherichia coliEscherichia coli is a Gram-negative, rod-shaped bacterium that is commonly found in the lower intestine of warm-blooded organisms . Most E. coli strains are harmless, but some serotypes can cause serious food poisoning in humans, and are occasionally responsible for product recalls...
(E. coli) - This common, Gram-negative gut bacterium is the most widely-used organism in molecular geneticsMolecular geneticsMolecular genetics is the field of biology and genetics that studies the structure and function of genes at a molecular level. The field studies how the genes are transferred from generation to generation. Molecular genetics employs the methods of genetics and molecular biology...
. - Bacillus subtilisBacillus subtilisBacillus subtilis, known also as the hay bacillus or grass bacillus, is a Gram-positive, catalase-positive bacterium commonly found in soil. A member of the genus Bacillus, B. subtilis is rod-shaped, and has the ability to form a tough, protective endospore, allowing the organism to tolerate...
- an endosporeEndosporeAn endospore is a dormant, tough, and temporarily non-reproductive structure produced by certain bacteria from the Firmicute phylum. The name "endospore" is suggestive of a spore or seed-like form , but it is not a true spore . It is a stripped-down, dormant form to which the bacterium can reduce...
forming Gram-positive bacterium - Caulobacter crescentusCaulobacter crescentusCaulobacter crescentus is a Gram-negative, oligotrophic bacterium widely distributed in fresh water lakes and streams.Caulobacter is an important model organism for studying the regulation of the cell cycle, asymmetric cell division, and cellular differentiation. Caulobacter daughter cells have...
- a bacterium that divides into two distinct cells used to study cellular differentiationCellular differentiationIn developmental biology, cellular differentiation is the process by which a less specialized cell becomes a more specialized cell type. Differentiation occurs numerous times during the development of a multicellular organism as the organism changes from a simple zygote to a complex system of...
. - Mycoplasma genitaliumMycoplasma genitaliumMycoplasma genitalium is a small parasitic bacterium that lives on the ciliated epithelial cells of the primate genital and respiratory tracts. M. genitalium is the smallest known genome that can constitute a cell, and the second-smallest bacterium after the recently-discovered endosymbiont...
- a minimal organism - Vibrio fischeriVibrio fischeriVibrio fischeri is a gram-negative rod-shaped bacterium found globally in marine environments. V. fischeri has bioluminescent properties, and is found predominantly in symbiosis with various marine animals, such as the bobtail squid. It is heterotrophic and moves by means of flagella. Free living...
- quorum sensingQuorum sensingQuorum sensing is a system of stimulus and response correlated to population density. Many species of bacteria use quorum sensing to coordinate gene expression according to the density of their local population. In similar fashion, some social insects use quorum sensing to determine where to nest...
, bioluminescenceBioluminescenceBioluminescence is the production and emission of light by a living organism. Its name is a hybrid word, originating from the Greek bios for "living" and the Latin lumen "light". Bioluminescence is a naturally occurring form of chemiluminescence where energy is released by a chemical reaction in...
and animal-bacterial symbiosisSymbiosisSymbiosis is close and often long-term interaction between different biological species. In 1877 Bennett used the word symbiosis to describe the mutualistic relationship in lichens...
with Hawaiian Bobtail SquidHawaiian Bobtail SquidEuprymna scolopes, also known as the Hawaiian Bobtail Squid, is a species of bobtail squid in the family Sepiolidae. It is native to the central Pacific Ocean, where it occurs in shallow coastal waters off the Hawaiian Islands and Midway Island... - SynechocystisSynechocystisSynechocystis sp. PCC6803 is a freshwater cyanobacterium capable of both phototrophic growth by oxygenic photosynthesis in sunlight and heterotrophic growth by glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation during dark periods...
, a photosynthetic cyanobacterium widely used in photosynthesisPhotosynthesisPhotosynthesis is a chemical process that converts carbon dioxide into organic compounds, especially sugars, using the energy from sunlight. Photosynthesis occurs in plants, algae, and many species of bacteria, but not in archaea. Photosynthetic organisms are called photoautotrophs, since they can...
research. - Pseudomonas fluorescensPseudomonas fluorescensPseudomonas fluorescens is a common Gram-negative, rod-shaped bacterium. It belongs to the Pseudomonas genus; 16S rRNA analysis has placed P. fluorescens in the P. fluorescens group within the genus, to which it lends its name....
, a soil bacterium that readily diversifies into different strains in the lab.
Protists
- ProtistProtistProtists are a diverse group of eukaryotic microorganisms. Historically, protists were treated as the kingdom Protista, which includes mostly unicellular organisms that do not fit into the other kingdoms, but this group is contested in modern taxonomy...
s: - Chlamydomonas reinhardtiiChlamydomonas reinhardtiiChlamydomonas reinhardtii is a single celled green alga about 10 micrometres in diameter that swims with two flagella. They have a cell wall made of hydroxyproline-rich glycoproteins, a large cup-shaped chloroplast, a large pyrenoid, and an "eyespot" that senses light.Although widely distributed...
- a unicellular green alga used to study photosynthesisPhotosynthesisPhotosynthesis is a chemical process that converts carbon dioxide into organic compounds, especially sugars, using the energy from sunlight. Photosynthesis occurs in plants, algae, and many species of bacteria, but not in archaea. Photosynthetic organisms are called photoautotrophs, since they can...
, flagella and motilityMotilityMotility is a biological term which refers to the ability to move spontaneously and actively, consuming energy in the process. Most animals are motile but the term applies to single-celled and simple multicellular organisms, as well as to some mechanisms of fluid flow in multicellular organs, in...
, regulation of metabolismMetabolismMetabolism is the set of chemical reactions that happen in the cells of living organisms to sustain life. These processes allow organisms to grow and reproduce, maintain their structures, and respond to their environments. Metabolism is usually divided into two categories...
, cell-cell recognition and adhesionCell adhesionCellular adhesion is the binding of a cell to a surface, extracellular matrix or another cell using cell adhesion molecules such as selectins, integrins, and cadherins. Correct cellular adhesion is essential in maintaining multicellular structure...
, response to nutrient deprivationStarvationStarvation is a severe deficiency in caloric energy, nutrient and vitamin intake. It is the most extreme form of malnutrition. In humans, prolonged starvation can cause permanent organ damage and eventually, death...
and many other topics. Chlamydomonas reinhardtii has a well-studied genetics, with many known and mapped mutants and expressed sequence tags, and there are advanced methods for genetic transformation and selection of genes. Sequencing of the Chlamydomonas reinhardtii genome was reported in October 2007. A Chlamydomonas genetic stock center exists at Duke UniversityDuke UniversityDuke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
, and an international Chlamydomonas research interest group meets on a regular basis to discuss research results. Chlamydomonas is easy to grow on an inexpensive defined mediumGrowth mediumA growth medium or culture medium is a liquid or gel designed to support the growth of microorganisms or cells, or small plants like the moss Physcomitrella patens.There are different types of media for growing different types of cells....
. - Dictyostelium discoideumDictyostelium discoideumDictyostelium discoideum is a species of soil-living amoeba belonging to the phylum Mycetozoa. D. discoideum, commonly referred to as slime mold, is a eukaryote that transitions from a collection of unicellular amoebae into a multicellular slug and then into a fruiting body within its lifetime. D...
is used in molecular biologyMolecular biologyMolecular biology is the branch of biology that deals with the molecular basis of biological activity. This field overlaps with other areas of biology and chemistry, particularly genetics and biochemistry...
and geneticsGeneticsGenetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....
(its genomeGenomeIn modern molecular biology and genetics, the genome is the entirety of an organism's hereditary information. It is encoded either in DNA or, for many types of virus, in RNA. The genome includes both the genes and the non-coding sequences of the DNA/RNA....
has been sequenced), and is studied as an example of cell communication, differentiationCellular differentiationIn developmental biology, cellular differentiation is the process by which a less specialized cell becomes a more specialized cell type. Differentiation occurs numerous times during the development of a multicellular organism as the organism changes from a simple zygote to a complex system of...
, and programmed cell deathProgrammed cell deathProgrammed cell-death is death of a cell in any form, mediated by an intracellular program. PCD is carried out in a regulated process which generally confers advantage during an organism's life-cycle...
. - Tetrahymena thermophila - a free living freshwater ciliateCiliateThe ciliates are a group of protozoans characterized by the presence of hair-like organelles called cilia, which are identical in structure to flagella but typically shorter and present in much larger numbers with a different undulating pattern than flagella...
protozoan. - Emiliania huxleyiEmiliania huxleyiEmiliania huxleyi, often abbreviated "EHUX", is a species of coccolithophore with a global distribution from the tropics to subarctic waters. It is one of thousands of different photosynthetic plankton that freely drift in the euphotic zone of the ocean, forming the basis of virtually all marine...
- a unicellular marine coccolithophoreCoccolithophoreCoccolithophores are single-celled algae, protists, and phytoplankton belonging to the division of haptophytes. They are distinguished by special calcium carbonate plates of uncertain function called coccoliths , which are important microfossils...
alga, extensively studied as a model phytoplanktonPhytoplanktonPhytoplankton are the autotrophic component of the plankton community. The name comes from the Greek words φυτόν , meaning "plant", and πλαγκτός , meaning "wanderer" or "drifter". Most phytoplankton are too small to be individually seen with the unaided eye...
species. - Thalassiosira pseudonanaThalassiosira pseudonanaThalassiosira pseudonana is a species of marine centric diatom. It was chosen as the first eukaryotic marine phytoplankton for whole genome sequencing. T...
- a unicellular marine diatomDiatomDiatoms are a major group of algae, and are one of the most common types of phytoplankton. Most diatoms are unicellular, although they can exist as colonies in the shape of filaments or ribbons , fans , zigzags , or stellate colonies . Diatoms are producers within the food chain...
alga, extensively studied as a model marine diatom since its genome was published in 2004
Fungi
- FungiFungusA fungus is a member of a large group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds , as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, Fungi, which is separate from plants, animals, and bacteria...
:
- Ashbya gossypiiAshbya gossypiiAshbya gossypii is a filamentous fungus or mold closely related to yeast, but growing exclusively in a filamentous way. It was originally isolated from cotton as a pathogen causing stigmatomycosis by Ashby and Novell in 1926...
, cotton pathogen, subject of genetics studies (polarity, cell cycle) - Aspergillus nidulansAspergillus nidulansAspergillus nidulans is one of many species of filamentous fungi in the phylum Ascomycota...
, moldMoldMolds are fungi that grow in the form of multicellular filaments called hyphae. Molds are not considered to be microbes but microscopic fungi that grow as single cells called yeasts...
subject of genetics studies - Coprinus cinereus, mushroomMushroomA mushroom is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or on its food source. The standard for the name "mushroom" is the cultivated white button mushroom, Agaricus bisporus; hence the word "mushroom" is most often applied to those fungi that...
(genetic studies of mushroom development, genetic studies of meiosisMeiosisMeiosis is a special type of cell division necessary for sexual reproduction. The cells produced by meiosis are gametes or spores. The animals' gametes are called sperm and egg cells....
) - Neurospora crassaNeurospora crassaNeurospora crassa is a type of red bread mold of the phylum Ascomycota. The genus name, meaning "nerve spore" refers to the characteristic striations on the spores. The first published account of this fungus was from an infestation of French bakeries in 1843. N...
- orange bread moldMoldMolds are fungi that grow in the form of multicellular filaments called hyphae. Molds are not considered to be microbes but microscopic fungi that grow as single cells called yeasts...
(genetic studies of meiosisMeiosisMeiosis is a special type of cell division necessary for sexual reproduction. The cells produced by meiosis are gametes or spores. The animals' gametes are called sperm and egg cells....
, metabolic regulation, and circadian rhythmCircadian rhythmA circadian rhythm, popularly referred to as body clock, is an endogenously driven , roughly 24-hour cycle in biochemical, physiological, or behavioural processes. Circadian rhythms have been widely observed in plants, animals, fungi and cyanobacteria...
) - Saccharomyces cerevisiaeSaccharomyces cerevisiaeSaccharomyces cerevisiae is a species of yeast. It is perhaps the most useful yeast, having been instrumental to baking and brewing since ancient times. It is believed that it was originally isolated from the skin of grapes...
, baker's yeastYeastYeasts are eukaryotic micro-organisms classified in the kingdom Fungi, with 1,500 species currently described estimated to be only 1% of all fungal species. Most reproduce asexually by mitosis, and many do so by an asymmetric division process called budding...
or budding yeast (used in brewing and baking) - Schizophyllum communeSchizophyllum communeSchizophyllum commune is a very common species of mushroom in the genus Schizophyllum. It is the world's most widely distributed mushroom, occurring on every continent except Antarctica....
- model for mushroomMushroomA mushroom is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or on its food source. The standard for the name "mushroom" is the cultivated white button mushroom, Agaricus bisporus; hence the word "mushroom" is most often applied to those fungi that...
formation. - Schizosaccharomyces pombeSchizosaccharomyces pombeSchizosaccharomyces pombe, also called "fission yeast", is a species of yeast. It is used as a model organism in molecular and cell biology. It is a unicellular eukaryote, whose cells are rod-shaped. Cells typically measure 3 to 4 micrometres in diameter and 7 to 14 micrometres in length...
, fission yeast, (cell cycle, cell polarity, RNAi, centromere structure and function, transcription) - Ustilago maydis, dimorphic yeast and plant pathogen of maizeMaizeMaize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
(dimorphism, plant pathogen, transcription)
Plants
- PlantPlantPlants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. Precise definitions of the kingdom vary, but as the term is used here, plants include familiar organisms such as trees, flowers, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The group is also called green plants or...
s: - Arabidopsis thalianaArabidopsis thalianaArabidopsis thaliana is a small flowering plant native to Europe, Asia, and northwestern Africa. A spring annual with a relatively short life cycle, arabidopsis is popular as a model organism in plant biology and genetics...
, currently the most popular model plant. This herbaceous dicot belonging to BrassicaceaeBrassicaceaeBrassicaceae, a medium sized and economically important family of flowering plants , are informally known as the mustards, mustard flowers, the crucifers or the cabbage family....
family is a plant closely related to the mustard plantMustard plantMustards are several plant species in the genera Brassica and Sinapis whose small mustard seeds are used as a spice and, by grinding and mixing them with water, vinegar or other liquids, are turned into the condiment known as mustard or prepared mustard...
. Its small stature and short generation time facilitates rapid genetic studies, and many phenotypic and biochemical mutants have been mapped. Arabidopsis was the first plant to have its genomeGenomeIn modern molecular biology and genetics, the genome is the entirety of an organism's hereditary information. It is encoded either in DNA or, for many types of virus, in RNA. The genome includes both the genes and the non-coding sequences of the DNA/RNA....
sequencedDNA sequencingDNA sequencing includes several methods and technologies that are used for determining the order of the nucleotide bases—adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine—in a molecule of DNA....
. Its genome sequence, along with a wide range of information concerning Arabidopsis, is maintained by the TAIR database.
(Plant physiologyPlant physiologyPlant physiology is a subdiscipline of botany concerned with the functioning, or physiology, of plants. Closely related fields include plant morphology , plant ecology , phytochemistry , cell biology, and molecular biology.Fundamental processes such as photosynthesis, respiration, plant nutrition,...
, Developmental biologyDevelopmental biologyDevelopmental biology is the study of the process by which organisms grow and develop. Modern developmental biology studies the genetic control of cell growth, differentiation and "morphogenesis", which is the process that gives rise to tissues, organs and anatomy.- Related fields of study...
, Molecular geneticsMolecular geneticsMolecular genetics is the field of biology and genetics that studies the structure and function of genes at a molecular level. The field studies how the genes are transferred from generation to generation. Molecular genetics employs the methods of genetics and molecular biology...
, Population geneticsPopulation geneticsPopulation genetics is the study of allele frequency distribution and change under the influence of the four main evolutionary processes: natural selection, genetic drift, mutation and gene flow. It also takes into account the factors of recombination, population subdivision and population...
, CytologyCell biologyCell biology is a scientific discipline that studies cells – their physiological properties, their structure, the organelles they contain, interactions with their environment, their life cycle, division and death. This is done both on a microscopic and molecular level...
, Molecular biologyMolecular biologyMolecular biology is the branch of biology that deals with the molecular basis of biological activity. This field overlaps with other areas of biology and chemistry, particularly genetics and biochemistry...
) - Selaginella moellendorffiiSelaginella moellendorffiiSelaginella moellendorffii is a lycophyte that is an important model organism, especially in comparative genomics. S. moellendorffii is a member of an ancient vascular plant lineage that first appears in the fossil record some 400 million years ago. They would later form a dominant part of the...
is a remnant of an ancient lineage of vascular plants and key to understanding the evolution of land plants. It has a small genome size (~110Mb) and its sequence was released by the Joint Genome Institute in early 2008. (Evolutionary biology, Molecular biologyMolecular biologyMolecular biology is the branch of biology that deals with the molecular basis of biological activity. This field overlaps with other areas of biology and chemistry, particularly genetics and biochemistry...
) - Brachypodium distachyonBrachypodium distachyonBrachypodium distachyon, commonly called purple false brome, is a grass species native to southern Europe, northern Africa and southwestern Asia east to India. It is related to the major cereal grain species wheat, barley, oats, maize, rice, rye, sorghum, and millet...
is an emerging experimental model grass that has many attributes that make it an excellent model for temperate cereals. (AgronomyAgronomyAgronomy is the science and technology of producing and using plants for food, fuel, feed, fiber, and reclamation. Agronomy encompasses work in the areas of plant genetics, plant physiology, meteorology, and soil science. Agronomy is the application of a combination of sciences like biology,...
, Molecular biologyMolecular biologyMolecular biology is the branch of biology that deals with the molecular basis of biological activity. This field overlaps with other areas of biology and chemistry, particularly genetics and biochemistry...
, GeneticsGeneticsGenetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....
) - Lotus japonicusLotus (genus)Lotus is a genus that includes bird's-foot trefoils and deervetches and contains many dozens of species distributed world-wide. Depending on the taxonomic authority, roughly between 70 and 150 are accepted. Lotus is a genus of legume and its members are adapted to a wide range of habitats, from...
a model legume used to study the symbiosis responsible for nitrogen fixationNitrogen fixationNitrogen fixation is the natural process, either biological or abiotic, by which nitrogen in the atmosphere is converted into ammonia . This process is essential for life because fixed nitrogen is required to biosynthesize the basic building blocks of life, e.g., nucleotides for DNA and RNA and...
. (AgronomyAgronomyAgronomy is the science and technology of producing and using plants for food, fuel, feed, fiber, and reclamation. Agronomy encompasses work in the areas of plant genetics, plant physiology, meteorology, and soil science. Agronomy is the application of a combination of sciences like biology,...
, Molecular biologyMolecular biologyMolecular biology is the branch of biology that deals with the molecular basis of biological activity. This field overlaps with other areas of biology and chemistry, particularly genetics and biochemistry...
)
- Lemna gibbaLemnaLemna is a genus of free-floating aquatic plants from the duckweed family. These rapidly-growing plants have found uses as a model system for studies in community ecology, basic plant biology, in ecotoxicology, in production of biopharmaceuticals, and as a source of animal feeds for agriculture...
is a rapidly-growing aquatic monocot, one of the smallest flowering plants. Lemna growth assays are used to evaluate the toxicity of chemicals to plants in ecotoxicologyEcotoxicologyEcotoxicology is the study of the effects of toxic chemicals on biological organisms, especially at the population, community, ecosystem level. Ecotoxicology is a multidisciplinary field, which integrates toxicology and ecology....
. Because it can be grown in pure culture, microbial action can be excluded. Lemna is being used as a recombinant expression systemGene expressionGene expression is the process by which information from a gene is used in the synthesis of a functional gene product. These products are often proteins, but in non-protein coding genes such as ribosomal RNA , transfer RNA or small nuclear RNA genes, the product is a functional RNA...
for economical production of complex biopharmaceuticalBiopharmaceuticalBiopharmaceuticals are medical drugs produced using biotechnology. They include proteins , nucleic acids and living microorganisms like virus and bacteria where the virulence of viruses and bacteria is reduced by the process of attenuation, they can be used for therapeutic or in vivo diagnostic...
s. It is also used in education to demonstrate population growth curvesExponential growthExponential growth occurs when the growth rate of a mathematical function is proportional to the function's current value...
.
- MaizeMaizeMaize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
(Zea mays L.) is a cereal grain. It is a diploid monocot with 10 large chromosome pairs, easily studied with the microscope. Its genetic features, including many known and mapped phenotypic mutants and a large number of progeny per cross (typically 100-200) facilitated the discovery of transposonTransposonTransposable elements are sequences of DNA that can move or transpose themselves to new positions within the genome of a single cell. The mechanism of transposition can be either "copy and paste" or "cut and paste". Transposition can create phenotypically significant mutations and alter the cell's...
s ("jumping genes"). Many DNA markers have been mapped and the genome has been sequenced. (GeneticsGeneticsGenetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....
, Molecular biologyMolecular biologyMolecular biology is the branch of biology that deals with the molecular basis of biological activity. This field overlaps with other areas of biology and chemistry, particularly genetics and biochemistry...
, AgronomyAgronomyAgronomy is the science and technology of producing and using plants for food, fuel, feed, fiber, and reclamation. Agronomy encompasses work in the areas of plant genetics, plant physiology, meteorology, and soil science. Agronomy is the application of a combination of sciences like biology,...
) - Medicago truncatulaMedicago truncatulaMedicago truncatula is a small legume native to the Mediterranean region that is used in genomic research. It is a low-growing, clover-like plant 10–60 cm tall with trifoliate leaves. Each leaflet is rounded, 1–2 cm long, often with a dark spot in the center...
is a model legume, closely related to the common alfalfaAlfalfaAlfalfa is a flowering plant in the pea family Fabaceae cultivated as an important forage crop in the US, Canada, Argentina, France, Australia, the Middle East, South Africa, and many other countries. It is known as lucerne in the UK, France, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand, and known as...
. Its rather small genome is currently being sequenced. It is used to study the symbiosis responsible for nitrogen fixation. (AgronomyAgronomyAgronomy is the science and technology of producing and using plants for food, fuel, feed, fiber, and reclamation. Agronomy encompasses work in the areas of plant genetics, plant physiology, meteorology, and soil science. Agronomy is the application of a combination of sciences like biology,...
, Molecular biologyMolecular biologyMolecular biology is the branch of biology that deals with the molecular basis of biological activity. This field overlaps with other areas of biology and chemistry, particularly genetics and biochemistry...
) - MimulusMimulusMimulus is a diverse plant genus, the monkey-flowers and musk-flowers. The about 150 species are currently placed in the family Phrymaceae. The genus has traditionally been placed in Scrophulariaceae. The removal of Mimulus from that family has been supported by studies of chloroplast DNA first...
is a model organism used in evolutionary and functional genomes studies. This specie pertain to PhrymaceaePhrymaceaePhrymaceae , also known as the Lopseed family, is a small plant family in the order Lamiales. It now consists of about 190 species, distributed worldwide but with the majority in western North America and Australia .Previously, this family was monotypic with the genus Phryma, and limited in...
family, with ca. 120 species. Several genetic resources has been designed for the study of this genera, some are free access (http://www.mimulusevolution.org) - Tobacco BY-2 cells is suspension cell lineCell cultureCell culture is the complex process by which cells are grown under controlled conditions. In practice, the term "cell culture" has come to refer to the culturing of cells derived from singlecellular eukaryotes, especially animal cells. However, there are also cultures of plants, fungi and microbes,...
from tobaccoTobaccoTobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
(Nicotiana tabaccum). Useful for general plant physiology studies on cellCell (biology)The cell is the basic structural and functional unit of all known living organisms. It is the smallest unit of life that is classified as a living thing, and is often called the building block of life. The Alberts text discusses how the "cellular building blocks" move to shape developing embryos....
level. Genome of this particular cultivarCultivarA cultivar'Cultivar has two meanings as explained under Formal definition. When used in reference to a taxon, the word does not apply to an individual plant but to all those plants sharing the unique characteristics that define the cultivar. is a plant or group of plants selected for desirable...
will be not sequenced (at least in near future), but sequencing of its wild speciesSpeciesIn biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
Nicotiana tabaccum is presently in progress. (CytologyCell biologyCell biology is a scientific discipline that studies cells – their physiological properties, their structure, the organelles they contain, interactions with their environment, their life cycle, division and death. This is done both on a microscopic and molecular level...
, Plant physiologyPlant physiologyPlant physiology is a subdiscipline of botany concerned with the functioning, or physiology, of plants. Closely related fields include plant morphology , plant ecology , phytochemistry , cell biology, and molecular biology.Fundamental processes such as photosynthesis, respiration, plant nutrition,...
, BiotechnologyBiotechnologyBiotechnology is a field of applied biology that involves the use of living organisms and bioprocesses in engineering, technology, medicine and other fields requiring bioproducts. Biotechnology also utilizes these products for manufacturing purpose...
) - RiceRiceRice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
(Oryza sativa) is used as a model for cerealCerealCereals are grasses cultivated for the edible components of their grain , composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran...
biology. It has one of the smallest genomes of any cereal species, and sequencing of its genome is finished. (AgronomyAgronomyAgronomy is the science and technology of producing and using plants for food, fuel, feed, fiber, and reclamation. Agronomy encompasses work in the areas of plant genetics, plant physiology, meteorology, and soil science. Agronomy is the application of a combination of sciences like biology,...
, Molecular biologyMolecular biologyMolecular biology is the branch of biology that deals with the molecular basis of biological activity. This field overlaps with other areas of biology and chemistry, particularly genetics and biochemistry...
)
- Physcomitrella patensPhyscomitrella patensPhyscomitrella patens is a moss used as a model organism for studies on plant evolution, development and physiology.-Model organism:...
is a mossMossMosses are small, soft plants that are typically 1–10 cm tall, though some species are much larger. They commonly grow close together in clumps or mats in damp or shady locations. They do not have flowers or seeds, and their simple leaves cover the thin wiry stems...
increasingly used for studies on development and molecular evolutionMolecular evolutionMolecular evolution is in part a process of evolution at the scale of DNA, RNA, and proteins. Molecular evolution emerged as a scientific field in the 1960s as researchers from molecular biology, evolutionary biology and population genetics sought to understand recent discoveries on the structure...
of plants. It is so far the only non-vascular plant(and so the only "primitive" plant) with its genome completely sequenced. Moreover, it is currently the only land plant with efficient gene targetingGene targetingGene targeting is a genetic technique that uses homologous recombination to change an endogenous gene. The method can be used to delete a gene, remove exons, add a gene, and introduce point mutations. Gene targeting can be permanent or conditional...
that enables gene knockoutGene knockoutA gene knockout is a genetic technique in which one of an organism's genes is made inoperative . Also known as knockout organisms or simply knockouts, they are used in learning about a gene that has been sequenced, but which has an unknown or incompletely known function...
. The resulting knockout mosses are stored and distributed by the International Moss Stock CenterInternational Moss Stock CenterThe International Moss Stock Center , located at the Albert-Ludwigs-University of Freiburg, is an international resource center which is specialized in collecting, preserving and distributing moss plants of a high value of scientific research.-Moss collection:The moss collection of the IMSC...
. (Plant physiologyPlant physiologyPlant physiology is a subdiscipline of botany concerned with the functioning, or physiology, of plants. Closely related fields include plant morphology , plant ecology , phytochemistry , cell biology, and molecular biology.Fundamental processes such as photosynthesis, respiration, plant nutrition,...
, Evolutionary biology, Molecular geneticsMolecular geneticsMolecular genetics is the field of biology and genetics that studies the structure and function of genes at a molecular level. The field studies how the genes are transferred from generation to generation. Molecular genetics employs the methods of genetics and molecular biology...
, Molecular biologyMolecular biologyMolecular biology is the branch of biology that deals with the molecular basis of biological activity. This field overlaps with other areas of biology and chemistry, particularly genetics and biochemistry...
) - Populus is a genus used as a model in forest genetics and woody plant studies. It has a small genome size, grows very rapidly, and is easily transformed. The genome sequence of PoplarPoplarPopulus is a genus of 25–35 species of deciduous flowering plants in the family Salicaceae, native to most of the Northern Hemisphere. English names variously applied to different species include poplar , aspen, and cottonwood....
(Populus trichocarpaPopulus trichocarpaPopulus trichocarpa is a deciduous broadleaf tree species native to western North America. It is used for timber, and is notable as a model organism in plant biology. Its full genome sequence was published in 2006...
) sequence is publicly available. - See also Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, above under Protists.
Invertebrates
- Amphimedon queenslandicaAmphimedon queenslandicaAmphimedon queenslandica is a sponge native to the Great Barrier Reef. Its genome has been sequenced. It has been the subject of various studies on the evolution of metazoan development.A...
, a demospongeDemospongeThe Demospongiae are the largest class in the phylum Porifera. Their "skeletons" are made of spicules consisting of fibers of the protein spongin, the mineral silica, or both. Where spicules of silica are present, they have a different shape from those in the otherwise similar glass sponges...
from the phylum Porifera used as a model for evolutionary developmental biologyEvolutionary developmental biologyEvolutionary developmental biology is a field of biology that compares the developmental processes of different organisms to determine the ancestral relationship between them, and to discover how developmental processes evolved...
and comparative genomicsComparative genomicsComparative genomics is the study of the relationship of genome structure and function across different biological species or strains. Comparative genomics is an attempt to take advantage of the information provided by the signatures of selection to understand the function and evolutionary... - Arbacia punctulataArbacia punctulataArbacia punctulata is a species of Arbacia genus of purple-spined sea urchins. Its natural habitat is in the Western Atlantic Ocean. Arbacia punctulata can be found in shallow water from Massachusetts to Cuba and the Yucatan Peninsula, from Texas to Florida in the Gulf of Mexico, the coast from...
, the purple-spined sea urchinSea urchinSea urchins or urchins are small, spiny, globular animals which, with their close kin, such as sand dollars, constitute the class Echinoidea of the echinoderm phylum. They inhabit all oceans. Their shell, or "test", is round and spiny, typically from across. Common colors include black and dull...
, classical subject of embryological studies - AplysiaAplysiaAplysia is a genus of medium-sized to extremely large sea slugs, specifically sea hares, which are one clade of large sea slugs, marine gastropod mollusks. The general description of sea hares can be found in the article on the superfamily Aplysioidea....
, a sea slug, whose ink release response serves as a model in neurobiology and whose growth cones serve as a model of cytoskeletal rearrangements - Branchiostoma floridaeBranchiostoma floridaeBranchiostoma floridae is a lancelet of the genus Branchiostoma. The genome of this species has been sequenced, revealing that among the chordates, the morphologically simpler tunicates are actually closer related to vertebrates than lancelets....
, a species commonly known as amphioxus or lanceletLanceletThe lancelets , also known as amphioxus, are the modern representatives of the subphylum Cephalochordata, formerly thought to be the sister group of the craniates. They are usually found buried in sand in shallow parts of temperate or tropical seas. In Asia, they are harvested commercially as food...
from the subphylum CephalochordataCephalochordataCephalochordata is a chordate subphylum defined by the presence of a notochord that persists throughout life. It is represented in the modern oceans by the lancelets...
of the phylum Chordata used as a model for understanding the evolution of nonchordate deuterostomes, invertebrate chordates, and vertebrates - Caenorhabditis elegansCaenorhabditis elegansCaenorhabditis elegans is a free-living, transparent nematode , about 1 mm in length, which lives in temperate soil environments. Research into the molecular and developmental biology of C. elegans was begun in 1974 by Sydney Brenner and it has since been used extensively as a model...
, a nematodeNematodeThe nematodes or roundworms are the most diverse phylum of pseudocoelomates, and one of the most diverse of all animals. Nematode species are very difficult to distinguish; over 28,000 have been described, of which over 16,000 are parasitic. It has been estimated that the total number of nematode...
, usually called C. elegans - an excellent model for understanding the genetic control of development and physiology. C. elegans was the first multicellular organism whose genome was completely sequenced - Ciona intestinalisCiona intestinalisCiona intestinalis is a urochordata , a tunicate widely distributed in Northern European waters. As an invasive species, it has also spread to other parts of the world....
, a sea squirt - DrosophilaDrosophilaDrosophila is a genus of small flies, belonging to the family Drosophilidae, whose members are often called "fruit flies" or more appropriately pomace flies, vinegar flies, or wine flies, a reference to the characteristic of many species to linger around overripe or rotting fruit...
, usually the species Drosophila melanogasterDrosophila melanogasterDrosophila melanogaster is a species of Diptera, or the order of flies, in the family Drosophilidae. The species is known generally as the common fruit fly or vinegar fly. Starting from Charles W...
- a kind of fruit flyDrosophilidaeDrosophilidae is a diverse, cosmopolitan family of flies, which includes fruit flies. Another family of flies called Tephritidae also includes fruit flies. The best known species of Drosophilidae is Drosophila melanogaster, within the genus Drosophila, and this species Is used extensively for...
, famous as the subject of genetics experiments by Thomas Hunt MorganThomas Hunt MorganThomas Hunt Morgan was an American evolutionary biologist, geneticist and embryologist and science author who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1933 for discoveries relating the role the chromosome plays in heredity.Morgan received his PhD from Johns Hopkins University in zoology...
and others. Easily raised in lab, rapid generations, mutations easily induced, many observable mutations. Recently, Drosophila has been used for neuropharmacological research. (Molecular geneticsMolecular geneticsMolecular genetics is the field of biology and genetics that studies the structure and function of genes at a molecular level. The field studies how the genes are transferred from generation to generation. Molecular genetics employs the methods of genetics and molecular biology...
, Population geneticsPopulation geneticsPopulation genetics is the study of allele frequency distribution and change under the influence of the four main evolutionary processes: natural selection, genetic drift, mutation and gene flow. It also takes into account the factors of recombination, population subdivision and population...
, Developmental biologyDevelopmental biologyDevelopmental biology is the study of the process by which organisms grow and develop. Modern developmental biology studies the genetic control of cell growth, differentiation and "morphogenesis", which is the process that gives rise to tissues, organs and anatomy.- Related fields of study...
). - Euprymna scolopes, the Hawaiian bobtail squid, model for animal-bacterial symbiosisSymbiosisSymbiosis is close and often long-term interaction between different biological species. In 1877 Bennett used the word symbiosis to describe the mutualistic relationship in lichens...
, bioluminescentBioluminescenceBioluminescence is the production and emission of light by a living organism. Its name is a hybrid word, originating from the Greek bios for "living" and the Latin lumen "light". Bioluminescence is a naturally occurring form of chemiluminescence where energy is released by a chemical reaction in...
vibrioVibrioVibrio is a genus of Gram-negative bacteria possessing a curved rod shape, several species of which can cause foodborne infection, usually associated with eating undercooked seafood. Typically found in saltwater, Vibrio are facultative anaerobes that test positive for oxidase and do not form...
s - Hydra (genus)Hydra (genus)Hydra is a genus of simple fresh-water animal possessing radial symmetry. Hydras are predatory animals belonging to the phylum Cnidaria and the class Hydrozoa. They can be found in most unpolluted fresh-water ponds, lakes, and streams in the temperate and tropical regions and can be found by...
, a Cnidarian, is the model organism to understand the processes of regenerationRegeneration (biology)In biology, regeneration is the process of renewal, restoration, and growth that makes genomes, cells, organs, organisms, and ecosystems resilient to natural fluctuations or events that cause disturbance or damage. Every species is capable of regeneration, from bacteria to humans. At its most...
and morphogenesisMorphogenesisMorphogenesis , is the biological process that causes an organism to develop its shape...
, as well as the evolution of bilaterian body plans - Loligo pealei, a squid, subject of studies of nerve function because of its giant axonAxonAn axon is a long, slender projection of a nerve cell, or neuron, that conducts electrical impulses away from the neuron's cell body or soma....
(nearly 1 mm diameter, roughly a thousand times larger than typical mammalian axons) - Macrostomum lignanoMacrostomum lignanoMacrostomum lignano is a free-living, hermaphroditic flatworm. It is transparent and of small size , and is part of the intertidal sand meiofauna of the Adriatic Sea...
, a free-living, marine flatworm, a model organism for the study of stem cells, regeneration, ageing, gene function, and the evolution of sex. Easily raised in the lab, short generation time, indetermined growth, complex behaviour - Mnemiopsis leidyiMnemiopsis leidyiThe warty comb jelly or sea walnut is a species of tentaculate ctenophore , originally native to the western Atlantic coastal waters. Three species have been named in the genus Mnemiopsis, but they are now believed to be different ecological forms of a single species M...
, from the phylum Ctenophora (comb jelly) used as a model for evolutionary developmental biologyEvolutionary developmental biologyEvolutionary developmental biology is a field of biology that compares the developmental processes of different organisms to determine the ancestral relationship between them, and to discover how developmental processes evolved...
and comparative genomicsComparative genomicsComparative genomics is the study of the relationship of genome structure and function across different biological species or strains. Comparative genomics is an attempt to take advantage of the information provided by the signatures of selection to understand the function and evolutionary... - Nematostella vectensis, a sea anemoneSea anemoneSea anemones are a group of water-dwelling, predatory animals of the order Actiniaria; they are named after the anemone, a terrestrial flower. Sea anemones are classified in the phylum Cnidaria, class Anthozoa, subclass Zoantharia. Anthozoa often have large polyps that allow for digestion of larger...
from the phylum CnidariaCnidariaCnidaria is a phylum containing over 9,000 species of animals found exclusively in aquatic and mostly marine environments. Their distinguishing feature is cnidocytes, specialized cells that they use mainly for capturing prey. Their bodies consist of mesoglea, a non-living jelly-like substance,...
used as a model for evolutionary developmental biologyEvolutionary developmental biologyEvolutionary developmental biology is a field of biology that compares the developmental processes of different organisms to determine the ancestral relationship between them, and to discover how developmental processes evolved...
and comparative genomicsComparative genomicsComparative genomics is the study of the relationship of genome structure and function across different biological species or strains. Comparative genomics is an attempt to take advantage of the information provided by the signatures of selection to understand the function and evolutionary... - Oikopleura dioicaOikopleuraOikopleura is a genus of Tunicata in the class Appendicularia. It forms a mucus house every four hours at 20 degrees Celsius...
, an appendiculariaLarvaceaLarvaceans are solitary, free-swimming tunicates found throughout the world's oceans. Like most tunicates, appendicularians are filter feeders. Unlike other tunicates, appendicularians live in the pelagic zone, specifically in the upper sunlit portion of the ocean or sometimes deeper...
, a free-swimming tunicate (or urochordate)TunicateTunicates, also known as urochordates, are members of the subphylum Tunicata, previously known as Urochordata, a group of underwater saclike filter feeders with incurrent and excurrent siphons that is classified within the phylum Chordata. While most tunicates live on the ocean floor, others such...
) - Oscarella carmela a homoscleromorph sponge (phylum Porifera) used as a model in evolutionary developmental biologyEvolutionary developmental biologyEvolutionary developmental biology is a field of biology that compares the developmental processes of different organisms to determine the ancestral relationship between them, and to discover how developmental processes evolved...
- Parhyale hawaiensisParhyale hawaiensisParhyale hawaiensis is an amphipod crustacean species that is used in developmental and genetic analyses.-Habitat:P. hawaiensis is a detritovore that has a circumtropical, worldwide, intertidal, and shallow-water marine distribution, and it may occur as a species complex...
an amphipod crustacean, used in evolutionary developmental (evo-devo) studies, with an extensive toolbox for genetic manipulation. - Platynereis dumerilii a marine polychaetous annelid, which evolved very slowly and therefore retained many ancestral features.
- Pristionchus pacificus, a roundworm used in evolutionary developmental biology in comparative analyses with C. elegans
- Schmidtea mediterraneaSchmidtea mediterraneaSchmidtea mediterranea is a freshwater planarian that lives in southern Europe and Tunisia. It is a model for regeneration and development of tissues such as the brain and germline....
a freshwater planarian; a model for regeneration and development of tissues such as the brain and germline - Stomatogastric ganglionStomatogastric nervous systemThe Stomatogastric Nervous System is a commonly studied neural network composed of several ganglia in arthropods that controls the motion of the gut and foregut. The network of neurons acts as a central pattern generator. It is a model system for motor pattern generation because of the small...
of various arthropodArthropodAn arthropod is an invertebrate animal having an exoskeleton , a segmented body, and jointed appendages. Arthropods are members of the phylum Arthropoda , and include the insects, arachnids, crustaceans, and others...
species; a model for motor pattern generation seen in all repetitive motions - Strongylocentrotus purpuratusStrongylocentrotus purpuratusThe purple sea urchin, Strongylocentrotus purpuratus, lives along the eastern edge of the Pacific Ocean extending from Ensenada, Mexico to British Columbia, Canada. This sea urchin species is deep purple in color and lives in lower intertidal and nearshore subtidal communities...
, the purple sea urchinSea urchinSea urchins or urchins are small, spiny, globular animals which, with their close kin, such as sand dollars, constitute the class Echinoidea of the echinoderm phylum. They inhabit all oceans. Their shell, or "test", is round and spiny, typically from across. Common colors include black and dull...
, widely used in developmental biology - Symsagittifera roscoffensisSymsagittifera roscoffensisSymsagittifera roscoffensis, formerly called Convoluta roscoffensis, is a free-living acoelomorph worm.-Appearance:Symsagittifera roscoffensis is a small flat worm. Due to the algae, Tetraselmis convolutae, which it assimilates into its body cavity, it has green colour...
, a flatwormFlatwormThe flatworms, known in scientific literature as Platyhelminthes or Plathelminthes are a phylum of relatively simple bilaterian, unsegmented, soft-bodied invertebrate animals...
, subject of studies of bilaterian body plan development - Tribolium castaneum, the flour beetle - a small, easily kept darkling beetleDarkling beetleDarkling beetles are a family of beetles found worldwide, estimated at more than 20,000 species. Many of the beetles have black elytra, leading to their common name...
used especially in behavioural ecology experiments - Trichoplax adhaerens, a very simple free-living animal from the phylum Placozoa used as a model in evolutionary developmental biologyEvolutionary developmental biologyEvolutionary developmental biology is a field of biology that compares the developmental processes of different organisms to determine the ancestral relationship between them, and to discover how developmental processes evolved...
and comparative genomicsComparative genomicsComparative genomics is the study of the relationship of genome structure and function across different biological species or strains. Comparative genomics is an attempt to take advantage of the information provided by the signatures of selection to understand the function and evolutionary...
Vertebrates
- Guinea pigGuinea pigThe guinea pig , also called the cavy, is a species of rodent belonging to the family Caviidae and the genus Cavia. Despite their common name, these animals are not in the pig family, nor are they from Guinea...
(Cavia porcellus) - used by Robert KochRobert KochHeinrich Hermann Robert Koch was a German physician. He became famous for isolating Bacillus anthracis , the Tuberculosis bacillus and the Vibrio cholerae and for his development of Koch's postulates....
and other early bacteriologists as a host for bacterial infections, hence a byword for "laboratory animal" even though less commonly used today - ChickenChickenThe chicken is a domesticated fowl, a subspecies of the Red Junglefowl. As one of the most common and widespread domestic animals, and with a population of more than 24 billion in 2003, there are more chickens in the world than any other species of bird...
(Gallus gallus domesticus) - used for developmental studies, as it is an amnioteAmnioteThe amniotes are a group of tetrapods that have a terrestrially adapted egg. They include synapsids and sauropsids , as well as their fossil ancestors. Amniote embryos, whether laid as eggs or carried by the female, are protected and aided by several extensive membranes...
and excellent for micromanipulation (e.g. tissue grafting) and over-expression of gene products - CatCatThe cat , also known as the domestic cat or housecat to distinguish it from other felids and felines, is a small, usually furry, domesticated, carnivorous mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and for its ability to hunt vermin and household pests...
(Felis sylvestris catus) - used in neurophysiological research - DogDogThe domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...
(Canis lupus familiaris) - an important respiratory and cardiovascular model, also contributed to the discovery of classical conditioningClassical conditioningClassical conditioning is a form of conditioning that was first demonstrated by Ivan Pavlov...
. - HamsterHamsterHamsters are rodents belonging to the subfamily Cricetinae. The subfamily contains about 25 species, classified in six or seven genera....
- first used to study kala-azar (leishmaniasisLeishmaniasisLeishmaniasis is a disease caused by protozoan parasites that belong to the genus Leishmania and is transmitted by the bite of certain species of sand fly...
) - Mouse (Mus musculusHouse mouseThe house mouse is a small rodent, a mouse, one of the most numerous species of the genus Mus.As a wild animal the house mouse mainly lives associated with humans, causing damage to crops and stored food....
) - the classic model vertebrate. Many inbred strains exist, as well as lines selected for particular traits, often of medical interest, e.g. body size, obesity, muscularity. (Quantitative geneticsQuantitative geneticsQuantitative genetics is the study of continuous traits and their underlying mechanisms. It is effectively an extension of simple Mendelian inheritance in that the combined effects of one or more genes and the environments in which they are expressed give rise to continuous distributions of...
, Molecular evolutionMolecular evolutionMolecular evolution is in part a process of evolution at the scale of DNA, RNA, and proteins. Molecular evolution emerged as a scientific field in the 1960s as researchers from molecular biology, evolutionary biology and population genetics sought to understand recent discoveries on the structure...
, GenomicsGenomicsGenomics is a discipline in genetics concerning the study of the genomes of organisms. The field includes intensive efforts to determine the entire DNA sequence of organisms and fine-scale genetic mapping efforts. The field also includes studies of intragenomic phenomena such as heterosis,...
) - LampreyLampreyLampreys are a family of jawless fish, whose adults are characterized by a toothed, funnel-like sucking mouth. Translated from an admixture of Latin and Greek, lamprey means stone lickers...
- spinal cord research - Medaka (Oryzias latipesOryzias latipesOryzias latipes, also known as Medaka and Japanese killifish, is a member of genus Oryzias , the only genus in the subfamily Oryziinae. This rather small...
, the Japanese ricefish) - an important model in developmental biology, and has the advantage of being much sturdier than the traditional Zebrafish - Rat (Rattus norvegicus) - particularly useful as a toxicology model; also particularly useful as a neurological model and source of primary cell cultures, owing to the larger size of organs and suborganellar structures relative to the mouse. (Molecular evolutionMolecular evolutionMolecular evolution is in part a process of evolution at the scale of DNA, RNA, and proteins. Molecular evolution emerged as a scientific field in the 1960s as researchers from molecular biology, evolutionary biology and population genetics sought to understand recent discoveries on the structure...
, GenomicsGenomicsGenomics is a discipline in genetics concerning the study of the genomes of organisms. The field includes intensive efforts to determine the entire DNA sequence of organisms and fine-scale genetic mapping efforts. The field also includes studies of intragenomic phenomena such as heterosis,...
) - Rhesus macaqueRhesus MacaqueThe Rhesus macaque , also called the Rhesus monkey, is one of the best-known species of Old World monkeys. It is listed as Least Concern in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in view of its wide distribution, presumed large population, and its tolerance of a broad range of habitats...
(Macaca mulatta) - used for studies on infectious diseaseInfectious diseaseInfectious diseases, also known as communicable diseases, contagious diseases or transmissible diseases comprise clinically evident illness resulting from the infection, presence and growth of pathogenic biological agents in an individual host organism...
and cognitionCognitionIn science, cognition refers to mental processes. These processes include attention, remembering, producing and understanding language, solving problems, and making decisions. Cognition is studied in various disciplines such as psychology, philosophy, linguistics, and computer science... - Cotton ratCotton ratA cotton rat is any member of the rodent genus Sigmodon. They are called cotton rats because they build their nests out of cotton, and can damage cotton crops. Cotton rats have small ears and dark coats, and are found in North and South America....
(Sigmodon hispidus) - formerly used in polio research - Zebra finchZebra FinchThe Zebra Finch, Taeniopygia guttata, is the most common and familiar estrildid finch of Central Australia and ranges over most of the continent, avoiding only the cool moist south and the tropical far north. It also can be found natively in Indonesia and East Timor...
(Taeniopygia guttata) - used in the study of the song systemSong systemA song system, also known as a song control system , is a series of discrete brain nuclei involved in the production and learning of song in songbirds...
of songbirdSongbirdA songbird is a bird belonging to the suborder Passeri of the perching birds . Another name that is sometimes seen as scientific or vernacular name is Oscines, from Latin oscen, "a songbird"...
s and the study of non-mammalian auditory systemAuditory systemThe auditory system is the sensory system for the sense of hearing.- Outer ear :The folds of cartilage surrounding the ear canal are called the pinna...
s - TakifuguTakifuguTakifugu is a genus of pufferfish, often better known by the Japanese name . There are 25 species belonging to the genus Takifugu, which can be found worldwide from about 45° latitude north to 45° latitude south, mostly in salt water. Their diet consists mostly of algae, molluscs, invertebrates...
(Takifugu rubripes, a pufferfishPufferfishTetraodontidae is a family of primarily marine and estuarine fish of the Tetraodontiformes order. The family includes many familiar species which are variously called pufferfish, balloonfish, blowfish, bubblefish, globefish, swellfish, toadfish, toadies, honey toads, sugar toads, and sea squab...
) - has a small genome with little junk DNA - The African clawed frogAfrican clawed frogThe African clawed frog is a species of South African aquatic frog of the genus Xenopus. Its name is derived from the three short claws on each hind foot, which it uses to tear apart its food...
(Xenopus laevis) - used in developmental biology because of its large embryoEmbryoAn embryo is a multicellular diploid eukaryote in its earliest stage of development, from the time of first cell division until birth, hatching, or germination...
s and high tolerance for physical and pharmacological manipulation - Zebrafish (Danio rerio, a freshwater fish) - has a nearly transparent body during early development, which provides unique visual access to the animal's internal anatomy. Zebrafish are used to study development, toxicology and toxicopathology, specific gene function and roles of signaling pathways.
Sexual selection and sexual conflict
- Callosobruchus maculatusCallosobruchus maculatusCallosobruchus maculatus, the bruchid beetle or the cowpea weevil, is a species of reddish-brown slightly elongate beetle. Although weevil-like they are not true weevils and do not have heads prolonged into a long "snout". Wing covers are marked with black and gray and there are two black spots...
, the bruchid beetle - Chorthippus parallelusChorthippus parallelusChorthippus parallelus, the meadow grasshopper, is a common species of grasshopper found in non-arid grasslands throughout the well vegetated areas of Europe and some adjoining areas of Asia...
, the meadow grasshopper - CoelopidaeCoelopidaeCoelopidae or kelp flies are a family of Acalyptratae Diptera, they are sometimes also called seaweed flies, though this term is used for a number of seashore diptera...
- seaweed flies - Diopsidae - stalk-eyed flies
- DrosophilaDrosophilaDrosophila is a genus of small flies, belonging to the family Drosophilidae, whose members are often called "fruit flies" or more appropriately pomace flies, vinegar flies, or wine flies, a reference to the characteristic of many species to linger around overripe or rotting fruit...
spp. - fruit flies - Macrostomum lignanoMacrostomum lignanoMacrostomum lignano is a free-living, hermaphroditic flatworm. It is transparent and of small size , and is part of the intertidal sand meiofauna of the Adriatic Sea...
, a sand flatworm - Gryllus bimaculatusGryllus bimaculatusGryllus bimaculatus is one of many cricket species known as the Field cricket. Also known as the African or Mediterranean field cricket or as the two-spotted cricket, it can be discriminated from other Gryllus species by the two dot-like marks on the base of its wings.This species of cricket is...
, the field cricket - Scathophaga stercorariaScathophaga stercorariaScathophaga stercoraria, known as the common yellow dung fly or sometimes called the golden dung fly. It is one of the most familiar and abundant of flies in many parts of the northern hemisphere. As its common name suggests, it is often found on mammal faeces, most notably those of horses and...
, the yellow dung fly
Hybrid zones
- Bombina bombina and variegata
- PodismaLocustLocusts are the swarming phase of short-horned grasshoppers of the family Acrididae. These are species that can breed rapidly under suitable conditions and subsequently become gregarious and migratory...
spp. in the Alps - Caledia captiva (Orthoptera) in eastern Australia
Table of model genetic organisms
This table indicates the status of the genome sequencing projectGenome project
Genome projects are scientific endeavours that ultimately aim to determine the complete genome sequence of an organism and to annotate protein-coding genes and other important genome-encoded features...
for each organism as well as whether the organism exhibits homologous recombination
Homologous recombination
Homologous recombination is a type of genetic recombination in which nucleotide sequences are exchanged between two similar or identical molecules of DNA. It is most widely used by cells to accurately repair harmful breaks that occur on both strands of DNA, known as double-strand breaks...
.
| Organism | Genome Sequenced | Homologous Recombination | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prokaryote | |||
| Escherichia coli Escherichia coli Escherichia coli is a Gram-negative, rod-shaped bacterium that is commonly found in the lower intestine of warm-blooded organisms . Most E. coli strains are harmless, but some serotypes can cause serious food poisoning in humans, and are occasionally responsible for product recalls... |
Yes | Yes | |
| Eukaryote, unicellular | |||
| Dictyostelium discoideum Dictyostelium discoideum Dictyostelium discoideum is a species of soil-living amoeba belonging to the phylum Mycetozoa. D. discoideum, commonly referred to as slime mold, is a eukaryote that transitions from a collection of unicellular amoebae into a multicellular slug and then into a fruiting body within its lifetime. D... |
Yes | Yes | |
| Saccharomyces cerevisiae Saccharomyces cerevisiae Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a species of yeast. It is perhaps the most useful yeast, having been instrumental to baking and brewing since ancient times. It is believed that it was originally isolated from the skin of grapes... |
Yes | Yes | |
| Schizosaccharomyces pombe Schizosaccharomyces pombe Schizosaccharomyces pombe, also called "fission yeast", is a species of yeast. It is used as a model organism in molecular and cell biology. It is a unicellular eukaryote, whose cells are rod-shaped. Cells typically measure 3 to 4 micrometres in diameter and 7 to 14 micrometres in length... |
Yes | Yes | |
| Chlamydomonas reinhardtii Chlamydomonas reinhardtii Chlamydomonas reinhardtii is a single celled green alga about 10 micrometres in diameter that swims with two flagella. They have a cell wall made of hydroxyproline-rich glycoproteins, a large cup-shaped chloroplast, a large pyrenoid, and an "eyespot" that senses light.Although widely distributed... |
Yes | No | |
| Tetrahymena thermophila | Yes | Yes | |
| Eukaryote, multicellular | |||
| Caenorhabditis elegans Caenorhabditis elegans Caenorhabditis elegans is a free-living, transparent nematode , about 1 mm in length, which lives in temperate soil environments. Research into the molecular and developmental biology of C. elegans was begun in 1974 by Sydney Brenner and it has since been used extensively as a model... |
Yes | Difficult | |
| Drosophila melanogaster Drosophila melanogaster Drosophila melanogaster is a species of Diptera, or the order of flies, in the family Drosophilidae. The species is known generally as the common fruit fly or vinegar fly. Starting from Charles W... |
Yes | Difficult | |
| Arabidopsis thaliana Arabidopsis thaliana Arabidopsis thaliana is a small flowering plant native to Europe, Asia, and northwestern Africa. A spring annual with a relatively short life cycle, arabidopsis is popular as a model organism in plant biology and genetics... |
Yes | No | |
| Physcomitrella patens Physcomitrella patens Physcomitrella patens is a moss used as a model organism for studies on plant evolution, development and physiology.-Model organism:... |
Yes | Yes | |
| Vertebrate | |||
| Danio rerio Danio rerio The zebrafish, Danio rerio, is a tropical freshwater fish belonging to the minnow family of order Cypriniformes. It is a popular aquarium fish, frequently sold under the trade name zebra danio, and is an important vertebrate model organism in scientific research.-Taxonomy:The zebrafish are... |
Yes | Yes | |
| Mus musculus | Yes | Yes | |
| Xenopus laevis (Note: and X. tropicalis) | Yes | No | |
| Homo sapiens (Note:not a model organism) | Yes | Yes | |
See also
- Animal modelAnimal modelAn animal model is a living, non-human animal used during the research and investigation of human disease, for the purpose of better understanding the disease without the added risk of causing harm to an actual human being during the process...
- EnsemblEnsemblEnsembl is a joint scientific project between the European Bioinformatics Institute and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, which was launched in 1999 in response to the imminent completion of the Human Genome Project...
genome database of model organisms - History of model organismsHistory of model organismsThe history of model organisms began with the idea that certain organisms can be studied and used to gain knowledge of other organisms or as a control for other organisms of the same species. Model organisms offer standards that serve as the authorized basis for comparison of other organisms...
- Animals in spaceAnimals in spaceAnimals in space originally only served to test the survivability of spaceflight, before manned space missions were attempted. Later, animals were also flown to investigate various biological processes and the effects microgravity and space flight might have on them...
- Animal testingAnimal testingAnimal testing, also known as animal experimentation, animal research, and in vivo testing, is the use of non-human animals in experiments. Worldwide it is estimated that the number of vertebrate animals—from zebrafish to non-human primates—ranges from the tens of millions to more than 100 million...
- Animal testing on invertebratesAnimal testing on invertebratesMost animal testing involves invertebrates, especially Drosophila melanogaster, a fruit fly, and Caenorhabditis elegans, a nematode. These animals offer scientists many advantages over vertebrates, including their short life cycle, simple anatomy and the ease with which large numbers of individuals...
- Animal testing on rodentsAnimal testing on rodentsRodents are commonly used in animal testing, particularly guinea pigs, hamsters, gerbils, rats, and mice.-The statistics:In the UK in 2004, 1,910,110 mice, 464,727 rats and 37,475 other rodents were used...
- Mouse models of colorectal and intestinal cancerMouse models of colorectal and intestinal cancerMouse models of colorectal cancer and intestinal cancer are experimental systems in which mice are genetically manipulated or challenged with chemicals to develop malignancies in the gastrointestinal tract...
- Generic Model Organism DatabaseGeneric Model Organism DatabaseThe Generic Model Organism Database Project began as an effort to create reusable software tools for developing Model Organism Databases . MODs describe genome and other information about important experimental organisms in the life sciences...
- History of animal testingHistory of animal testingThe history of animal testing goes back to the writings of the Greeks in the 4th and 3rd centuries BCE, with Aristotle and Erasistratus among the first to perform experiments on living animals...
- RefSeqRefSeqThe Reference Sequence database is an open access, annotated and curated collection of publicly available nucleotide sequences and their protein products. This database is built by National Center for Biotechnology Information , and, unlike GenBank, provides only single record for each natural...
- the Reference Sequence database - Genome projectGenome projectGenome projects are scientific endeavours that ultimately aim to determine the complete genome sequence of an organism and to annotate protein-coding genes and other important genome-encoded features...
External links
- Wellcome Trust description of model organisms
- WWW Virtual Library guide to several model organism resource lists
- The Generic Model Organism Database project
- The Model Organism Database ftp site and info
- The US National Institutes of Health page
- Model organisms in developmental biology
- Ludwig-Maximillians-Universität Department Biologie II
- Zebrafish GenomeWiki Community Annotation Project mainteined by the Institute of Genomics and Integrative BiologyInstitute of Genomics and Integrative BiologyInstitute of Genomics and Integrative Biology is a scientific research institute devoted primarily to integrated biological research. It is a part of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research , India....
- Workhorse Zoo by Adam Zaretsky
- Mandoli DF, Olmstead R (2000): The importance of emerging model systems in plant biology. Journal of plant growth regulation 19 (3): 249-252
- FishMap: The Zebrafish Community Genomics Browser maintained at the Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology