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Sumayya M Sali
M.Sc. Biotechnology
 Model organism
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 Selecting a model organism

Model organisms are chosen on the basis that

1. they are amenable to experimental
manipulation
2. they look for several traits like size, generation
time, accessibility, manipulation, genetics,
conservation of mechanisms, and potential
economic benefit
 ëmportant model organisms
 Viruses
 Phage Lambda
 Phi X 174 - its genome was the first ever to be sequenced.
The genome is a circle of 11 genes
genes,, 5386 base pairs in
length.
 Tobacco mosaic virus
 ëmportant model organisms
» Prokaryotes
 r


  ‰r

  - This common, Gram
Gram--negative gut
bacterium is the most widely-
widely-used organism in molecular genetics.
genetics.
 R
      - an endospore forming Gram
Gram--positive bacterium
 Î 


  - a bacterium that divides into two distinct cells
used to study cellular differentiation.
differentiation.
 ›
     - a minimal organism
 0
 - quorum sensing,
sensing, bioluminescence and animal-
animal-
bacterial symbiosis with Hawaiian Bobtail Squid
 2 

 , a photosynthetic cyanobacterium widely used in
photosynthesis research.
 G   
 , a soil bacterium that readily diversifies into
different strains in the lab.
 ëmportant model organisms
 Eukaryotes
 Protists
 Î     - a unicellular green alga used to study
photosynthesis,, flagella and motility
photosynthesis motility,, regulation of metabolism
metabolism,, cell-
cell-
cell recognition and adhesion
adhesion,, response to nutrient deprivation and
many other topics. Î     has a well-
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.
 u
  
 is used in molecular biology and genetics ‰its
genome has been sequenced , and is studied as an example of cell
communication,, differentiation
communication differentiation,, and programmed cell death.
death.
 Ñ     - a free living freshwater ciliate protozoan
protozoan..
 r    - a unicellular marine coccolithophore alga,
extensively studied as a model phytoplankton species.
 ëmportant model organisms
 6 

M |   ,, cotton pathogen, subject of genetics studies ‰polarity, cell
cycle
M |     , mold subject of genetics studies
M Î 
 , mushroom ‰genetic studies of mushroom development,
genetic studies of meiosis
M  
  - orange bread mold ‰genetic studies of meiosis meiosis,,
metabolic regulation, and

 
M ,, baker's yeast or budding yeast ‰used in brewing and
2


 
 
baking
M 2
 
 - model for mushroom formation.
M ,, fission yeast, ‰cell cycle, cell polarity, RNAi,
2
 


 
centromere structure and function, transcription
M     , dimorphic yeast and plant pathogen of maize
‰dimorphism, plant pathogen, transcription
 ëmportant model organisms
 Plants
   , currently the most popular model plant.
|    ,
This herbaceous dicot is a crucifer
crucifer,, a member of the mustard
family. ëts small stature and short generation time facilitates
genetic studies, and many phenotypic and biochemical
mutants have been mapped. Arabidopsis was the first plant to
have its genome sequenced
sequenced.. ëts genome sequence, along with
a wide range of information concerning |  , is
maintained by the TAëR database
 2    is a remnant of an ancient lineage of
vascular plants and key to understanding the evolution of
land plants. ët has a small genome size ‰
110Mb and its
sequence will be released by the Joint Genome ënstitute in
early 2008.
 ëmportant model organisms
 R
  
  is an emerging experimental model grass
that has many attributes that make it an excellent model for
temperate cereals.
 ^  
 a model legume used to study the symbiosis
responsible for nitrogen fixation.
fixation.
 Maize ‰j L. is a cereal grain. ët is a diploid monocot with
10 large chromosome pairs, easily studied with the microscope.
ëts genetic features, including many known and mapped
phenotypic mutants and a large number of progeny per cross
100-200 facilitated the discovery of transposons
‰typically 100-
‰jumping genes . Many DNA markers have been mapped and
the genome has been sequenced.  
› 
  
› 
   
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 ëmportant model organisms







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 Animal model
 An 
  is a living, non-
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
 | 
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1. Short life span - react faster. age faster.
2. Can be sacrificed - entire disease process
studied.
3. Sufficient numbers available - statistics.
4. ënfectious agents used without moral
constraints.
5. ënteractions of various factors studied -
physiology, anatomy known
 Ñ

 

 

  - This type is surgically induced,
should mimic the disease being studied, and be
easily manipulated and readily reproducible.
  
 - This type of model does not develop the
disease and is usually avoided
 
 - This type of model includes diseases of
animals which do not have human counterparts or
disease similar to those in man with dissimilar
etiologies or pathogenesis
 
  
- These naturally occurring diseases of
animals which mimic those occurring in man.
Over 890 types have been reported.
 6
  

  ! 
  
 |
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1. Species Availability
2. Pathogenesis
3. Life Span of the Species and the Segment Best
Suited
4. Anatomic Characteristics
5. Nutritional Requirements and Habits
6. Genetics
7. Polymorphism
 6
  

  ! 
  
 |
"

8. Reproduction
9. ëndigenous Factors Peculiar to a Species; Strain or
Supplier
10. Type of Agent
11. Schedule of Administration
12. State of Health
13. Environmental Requirements
14. Past Experience of ënvestigator
15. Caging
 Animal model
 ë  
 Î    
 
 
  
 Î
   

      

    
  
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 Animal model
 ë  
 u  
     
 u
u       
 
 
     
 
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 Animal model
 |

  , the purple-
|

  , purple-spined sea urchin,
urchin, classical
subject of embryological studies
, a sea slug, whose ink release response serves as a
 | ,
model in neurobiology and whose growth cones serve as a
model of cytoskeletal rearrangements.
^  ,, a squid, subject of studies of nerve function
 ^  
because of its giant axon ‰nearly 1 mm diameter, roughly a
thousand times larger than typical mammalian axons
 Animal model
  , a free-
›
  , 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
 2
   a freshwater planarian; a
model for regeneration and development of
tissues such as the brain and germline
 Animal model
 Vertebrates
 Guinea pig ‰Î
  - used by Robert Koch
and other early bacteriologists as a host for bacterial
infections, hence a byword for laboratory animal
even though less commonly used today
  



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1.  #

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 &
 - ëmportant for toxicology and teratology
studies.
2. 



 "


 
  - ëmportant for asthma and
environmental pollution studies.
3. '
 





 - ëmportant for entomology studies.
Can be used to test repellents and insecticides, and as feeding
source for biting insects.
4. |   #
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ëmportant for inner ear studies because it is easily dissected

and exposed.
5. (

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   - ëmportant for wound healing. bone,
tooth and atherosclerosis studies.
  



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6. #
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 - Possesses hemolytic complement with
higher activity levels than other lab animals. Widely used as a
source of complement for complement fixation test.
7. 




 *  





- Can be used as sentinel
animals because of their acute susceptibility to Coxiella burnetii.
Mycobacterium sp. Listeriosis.
8. 

 
  - Guinea Pig immune system
possesses a similar antigen-
antigen-macrophage interaction to man
and delayed cutaneous hypersensitivity reaction.
9. 

 " )
  
- For folic acid. thiamine.
arginine and potassium make guinea pigs useful in nutrition
studies.
10. $ 

+  - Good for germ free raising.
 


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1. ,
,--   
) - Sensitized guinea Pig uterus exposed to foreign
protein releases histamine and smooth muscle contraction is measured.
2. $    - To check for deafness. observe a cocking of ear pinnae in
response to Galton Whistle.
3. | 
 

- Sensitized guinea pig develops acute shock. respiratory
collapse and death within 2-2-5 minutes upon later re-
re-exposure to the
antigen.
4. | 



  
of drugs can be evaluated in guinea pigs because of
their high susceptibility to histamineinduced gastric ulcers and histamine-
histamine-
induced bronchospasm.
5. 
  


can be done by the use of radiant heat to
produce flinching of the skin in the guinea pig. The threshold of pain is
determined by the time of exposure and it is compared with the threshold
in the presence of the analgesic in question.
6. 
  


  
using guinea pigs involves inhalation of
coughing agents such as ammonia, sulfur dioxide. and citric acid.
 

 


 .   [ The Ts65Dn mouse, developed at The
Jackson Laboratory, mimics trisomy 21 and exhibits many of the
behavioral, learning, and physiological defects associated with the
syndrome in humans, including mental deficits, small size,
obesity, hydrocephalus and thymic defects.


6



/ 6 - The Î  knockout mouse has helped
advance research into cystic fibrosis
  - The p53 knockout mouse has a disabled Ñ#$ tumor
  -
suppressor gene that makes it highly susceptible to various
cancers
 # - The DBA/2J mouse exhibits many of the
symptoms that are often associated with human glaucoma
 

 


 Ñ

 
[


 
[ Non
Non--obese Diabetic ‰NOD mice are
enabling researchers to identify ëDDM susceptibility genes and
disease mechanisms.
 Ñ

 
[ The leading mouse models for NëDDM
and obesity research were all developed at The Jackson
Laboratory[ Î  ^ ^ and 

 



- The slow-
slow-wave epilepsy, or  mouse is the
only model to exhibit both of the two major forms of epilepsy[
petit mal ‰absence and grand mal
  


[ the | knockout mouse and C57BL/6J.
 Animal model
 Chicken ‰     
 - used for
developmental studies, as it is an amniote and excellent
for micromanipulation ‰e.g. tissue grafting and over-
over-
expression of gene products
 Cat ‰6  
  - used in neurophysiological research
 Dog ‰Î     - an important respiratory
and cardiovascular model, also contributed to the
discovery of classical conditioning
 Hamster - first used to study kala-
kala-azar ‰leishmaniasis
‰leishmaniasis
 Animal model
 Lamprey - spinal cord research
 Medaka ‰V
‰V     , the Japanese ricefish - an
important model in developmental biology, and has the
advantage of being much sturdier than the traditional
Zebrafish
 Rat ‰" 
‰"  
 - 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
 Animal model
 Rhesus macaque ‰›

   - used for studies on infectious
disease and cognition
 Cotton rat ‰2  - formerly used in polio research
 Zebra finch ‰Ñ    - used in the study of the song
system of songbirds and the study of non-
non-mammalian auditory
systems
 Takifugu ‰Ñ  , a pufferfish - has a small genome
with little junk DNA
 The African clawed frog ‰%
   - used in developmental
biology because of its large embryos and high tolerance for
physical and pharmacological manipulation
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