A model organism is a species that is extensively studied to understand particular biological phenomena, with the expectation that discoveries made in the organism model will provide insight into the workings of other organisms. This is possible because fundamental biological principles such as metabolic, regulatory, and developmental pathways, and the genes that code for them, are conserved through evolution.

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, techniques for genetic manipulation (inbred strains, stem cell lines, and transfection systems), 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.

There are many model organisms. One of the first model systems for molecular biology was the bacterium Escherichia coli a common constituent of the human digestive system. Several of the bacterial viruses (bacteriophage) that infect E. coli also have been very useful, for example phages Lambda and T4.

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Very nice feedback (offline) re left-handed biochemist post on comparative genomics and model organisms http://wp.me/p4HLU-4v (review)
cjrw (Chris Willmott) Tue, 22 Dec 2009 11:00:57 -0000
Very nice feedback (offline) re left-handed biochemist post on comparative genomics and model organisms http://wp.me/p4HLU-4v (review)
New left-handed biochemist post on comparative genomics and model organisms http://wp.me/p4HLU-4v (paper review)
cjrw (Chris Willmott) Mon, 21 Dec 2009 16:42:20 -0000
New left-handed biochemist post on comparative genomics and model organisms http://wp.me/p4HLU-4v (paper review)
Dragonflies and Damselflies: Model Organisms for Ecological and Evolutionary Research - by Alex Cordoba-Aguilar. http://j.mp/8xFbcb
outdoors_book (New Outdoors Books) Mon, 21 Dec 2009 02:18:31 -0000
Dragonflies and Damselflies: Model Organisms for Ecological and Evolutionary Research - by Alex Cordoba-Aguilar. http://j.mp/8xFbcb
Dragonflies and Damselflies: Model Organisms for Ecological and Evolutionary Research - by Alex Cordoba-Aguilar. http://j.mp/6HCncA
science_book (New Science Books) Mon, 21 Dec 2009 00:46:50 -0000
Dragonflies and Damselflies: Model Organisms for Ecological and Evolutionary Research - by Alex Cordoba-Aguilar. http://j.mp/6HCncA
Dragonflies and Damselflies: Model Organisms for Ecological and Evolutionary Research - by Alex Cordoba-Aguilar. http://j.mp/6igDvN
technical_book (New Technical Books) Mon, 21 Dec 2009 00:43:19 -0000
Dragonflies and Damselflies: Model Organisms for Ecological and Evolutionary Research - by Alex Cordoba-Aguilar. http://j.mp/6igDvN
Dragonflies and Damselflies: Model Organisms for Ecologic... (Paperback) by Alex Cordoba-Aguilar is out today http://merecal.com/1Qyj #books
MerecalBksNat (Outdoor & Nature) Sun, 20 Dec 2009 16:02:14 -0000
Dragonflies and Damselflies: Model Organisms for Ecologic... (Paperback) by Alex Cordoba-Aguilar is out today http://merecal.com/1Qyj #books

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