Ramos, Raven Poala M.

4BIO8

Model Organisms

Over the span of the previous years, the study of model organisms has turned out to be

more significant in the field of embryological development. Model organisms are non-human

species that are broadly studied with the end goal to comprehend a scope of natural phenomena,

together with the expectation that information and hypotheses produced through utilization of the

models will be made importance to different living organisms, especially those that are somehow

or another more intricate than the original model. As of now, the term “model organism” not just

fills in as a descriptor for life forms that have certain properties, it has increased prescriptive power

as well.

One example of a model organism is the mouse, Mus musculus, which turned out to be the

leading mammalian model organism, is known to be closely related to humans because they

possess similar developmental strategies and diseases such as cancer, atherosclerosis,

hypertension, diabetes, osteoporosis and glaucoma. Some human illnesses like cystic fibrosis and

Alzheimer’s are impelled by operating the mouse genome and condition because they do not

normally strike in mice. Moreover, mice also serve as the number one model organism used for

stem cell biology. Another example of model organism is the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans.

It was picked in 1963 by Sydney Brenner as a model organism since it shows signs of a

multicellular organism. Mechanisms included in apoptosis, insulin signaling and aging, and

neurobiology have been illustrated utilizing C. elegans. In addition, amphibians and chicken,

Xenopus laevis, also have their contributions in the study of vertebrate development. Their

embryos are large and effortlessly available which permits direct manipulation, particularly

microsurgery. The information on neural induction and pattern formation during appendage
developments are owed to the investigations of these model organisms. Aside from these three,

there are many more different model organisms used in research nowadays. It includes the plant,

Arabidopsis thaliana, the zebrafish, Danio rerio, the fruitfly, Drosophila melanogaster, the yeast,

Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and the bacteria, Eschrichia coli. All of them were used for the

advancement of embryological development.

These model organisms are chosen because they offer a lot of advantages. Some of these

are their availability all year round, convenience to breed, capability to produce a large number of

progenies and their embryos are easy to get at all stages of development. Indeed, model organisms

are key segments of a special and particularly biological method for doing research utilizing

models.

Reference:

Ankeny, R. A. & Sabina, L. (2010). What’s so special about model organisms?. Studies in History

and Philosophy of Science, 42(2011). 313-323.

Muller, B. & Grossniklaus, U. (2010). Model organisms – A historical perspective. Journal of

Proteomics, 73(2010). 20154-2063.