Systems biology and bioinformatics analyses are employed to compare research results from
model organisms with human aging to develop models and predictions for causative molecular mechanisms and circuits that influence human aging.
In 1997, when few genome sequences were available, Hieter helped create XREFdb, a public database that linked the functional annotations of genes studied in
model organisms with the phenotypic annotations on the human and mouse genetic maps.
They next turned to a couple of
model organisms with more cells — nematodes, also known as C. elegans, and fruit flies, or Drosophila.
«Unlike
model organisms with large collections of mutant strains to draw upon, the lack of reverse genetic tools in the mosquito has made it is very difficult to assign functions to genes in a definitive manner,» Adelman said.
As a proof - of - concept, the researchers cloned more than 3,000 DNA fragments from E. coli bacteria, commonly used as
a model organism with a catalogued genome sequence available.
Although pond snails reach only 7 cm in length, its simple neural network and physiology make it a popular
model organism with neurobiologists.
In the 1980's, a seminal paper by Duke colleague Tom Petes demonstrated recombination could occur across the centromeres in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, but some attributed the finding to a quirk of the favored
model organism with its tiny point centromeres.
Not exact matches
Essentially the
model reproduces the inner workings of all of the proteins within the
organism and allows scientists to see everything from how cells interact
with each other to the functions of genes in a larger context that had not been previously understood.
But the reason this research is so momentous has very little to do
with bacteria at all, rather it signals the beginning of
modeling organisms.
Birch and Cobb maintain that the ecological
model is more adequate than the mechanical
model for explaining DNA, the cell, other biological subject matter (as well as subatomic physics), because it holds that living things behave as they do only in interaction
with other things which constitute their environment (LL 83) and because «the constituent elements of the structure at each level (of an
organism) operate in patterns of interconnectedness which are not mechanical» (LL 83).
What Whitehead denotes as the «social order» of the higher living beings can no longer be understood on the
model of a society
with its emphasis on multiplicity, but only on that of an
organism focusing on unity.
In collaboration
with Synchrotron Oxford, the University of East Anglia and the University of California, the researchers, using a commonly - found member of human gut microbiota called Ruminococcus gnavus as a
model organism identified carbohydrate binding modules
with the ability to bind to mucus.
Years later, as I was wrapping up my Ph.D. after having spent countless hours centrifuging yeast, I couldn't wait to work
with a new
model organism.
It «just screamed that it would be an example that would fit really well
with this
model organism approach.»
Traditional genetic approaches together
with the new wealth of genomic information for both human and
model organisms open up strategies by which drugs can be profiled for their ability to selectively kill cells in a molecular context that matches those found in tumors.
Steve: You talk about the resistance that you encountered
with that choice of a
model organism.
«It's always been hard to work
with a new
organism,» says Jarvis, «CRISPR is awesome because suddenly, you don't have to spend decades developing a
model.»
Using the freshwater polyp Hydra as a
model organism, the Kiel - based researchers and their international colleagues investigated how the simple nervous system of these animals interacts
with the microbiome.
Models suggest that if seawater becomes too low in aragonite,
organisms with aragonite shells will dissolve.
Starting
with a
model organismThe team studied the bacterium Escherichia coli as a
model organism, comparing how 28 RNA sequences behaved in their
model and in the microbe.
Certain mental phenomena might be explained and
modeled with computers; the most fashionable candidates at the moment envision thoughts competing in the brain like
organisms in the wild.
The sequencing of the human genome is gearing up all those efforts, and
with each novel
model organism for which the sequence has been determined, the power of comparative analysis increases.
Different
model organisms like the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster are used for their research, aimed at decoding the principles of stem cell control
with the aim to also apply them to higher forms of life and eventually humans.
With his usual style and wit, he discusses the use of methods and
models adapted from physics and mechanical engineering to explore how
organisms move and function.
And this is where yeast, worms and flies can help: Although they may not look it, these so - called
model organisms share a lot of genetic information
with humans.
But in living choanoflagellates, King believes researchers have a
model organism to compare
with animals and dissect the roots of animal multicellularity.
Follows says that,
with more data on these opportunistic
organisms, he hopes to improve the
model to accurately reflect mixotrophic populations and their effect on the planet's carbon cycle.
However, where the traditional
model made a strict separation between those that photosynthesize and those that don't, the mixotrophic
model blurred those lines,
with some smaller
organisms consuming prey and some larger ones being able to photosynthesize.
The project was based on gene expression data from the modENCODE project, which aims to provide the scientific community
with a comprehensive encyclopedia of functional elements of the genome of
model organisms.
Using genetic
models in a variety of
organisms — yeast, nematodes, fruit flies, zebrafish — PLab aims to identify candidate treatment compounds for each disease, which can then be refined and taken to the clinic
with partner companies.
In order to understand this contradiction, the research group led by Raúl Estévez and Alejandro Barrallo compared genetically - modified zebrafish and mice
models — in other words, knock - out
organisms that, in this case, do not express the gene MLC1 —
with the brain biopsy from an MLC patient.
This data produced a plot
with a series of curves, each of which tracked how the
organism changed in the size and number of units
with age, enabling the researchers to produce a computer
model to replicate growth in the
organism and test previous hypotheses about where and how growth occurred.
-- 90 percent of genes associated
with disease are identical in the human and the mouse, supporting the use of mice as
model organisms.
«It integrates all processes responsible for
organism success and requires a systems science approach to understand it, complete
with observations and coordinated
models.
A few species are studied as
model organisms that can be used to gain knowledge of basic processes such as genetics, physiology, biochemistry, and molecular biology
with results that are applicable to many
organisms (Taylor et al., 1993).
He has collaborated
with many scientists across the world and worked
with various
model organisms, including zebrafish.
With such a rapid acceleration in the production of mouse lines that could be used to study a wide variety of phenomena, it's possible that we'll learn much more from our favourite mammalian
model organisms in the near future.
Leaders of the
model organism communities and GSA are working together
with NIH to identify solutions that will maintain the integrity of the databases and be more cost - efficient.
She added, «New
model systems will be a magnet for people from outside the field of marine microbial ecology as they will suddenly be able to work
with marine microbes in ways that they are used to working
with other
model organisms.»
The Microbiology Services Division at Porton Down, part of the National Infection Service directorate, has extensive high - containment laboratory facilities and rare capabilities to handle infectious
organisms under the highest levels of containment, and the ability to work
with in vivo
models to evaluate new therapeutic interventions against these
organisms.
Since ants are not afforded the molecular and genetic tools of traditional
model organisms, we will begin addressing the question of colony queen number
with a functional genomics approach.
Acoustic scattering
modeling; advanced sonar methods / technology for acoustic remote sensing of marine
organisms,
with applications to zooplankton and fish
Here we show the usefulness of combining survey sequencing
with dense radiation - hybrid (RH) maps for extracting maximum comparative genome information from
model organisms.
We address these questions by combining genetics
with live imaging, quantitative image analysis and biophysical approaches using the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster as a
model organism.
This will require bringing together the functional experts (molecular biology,
model organisms, and reverse genetics)
with the «gene hunters» as well as a serious commitment from funding agencies.
Geneticists across the
model organism and human genetics communities recognize Hieter for his dedication to uniting human biologists
with those who work on
model organisms such as mice, fruit flies, worms, and yeast.
As
with other
model organisms, the fully sequenced zebrafish genome has acted as an invaluable reference tool for scientists.
Many of the
model organism databases (MODs) used by members of the GSA community — including FlyBase, WormBase, SGD, ZFIN, and MGI — have been supported by NIH's National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), along
with others supporting human and other research — such as OMIM, the Gene Ontology Consortium, and UniProt.
Just one millimeter long, and
with a mere 302 neurons, this simple
model organism was easy to grow and manipulate in the laboratory.
To better serve the broader research community, WormBase,
with five other
Model Organism Databases and The Gene Ontology project, have begun to collaborate formally as the Alliance of Genome Resources.