Editing Model organism (section)

===Selected model organisms===
The organisms below have become model organisms because they facilitate the study of certain characters or because of their genetic accessibility. For example, [[Escherichia coli|''E. coli'']] was one of the first organisms for which genetic techniques such as [[Transformation (genetics)|transformation]] or [[Genetic engineering|genetic manipulation]] has been developed.{{cn|date=March 2025}}

The [[genome]]s of all model species have been [[genome sequencing project|sequenced]], including their [[mitochondria]]l/[[chloroplast]] genomes. [[Model organism databases]] exist to provide researchers with a portal from which to download sequences (DNA, RNA, or protein) or to access functional information on specific genes, for example the sub-cellular localization of the gene product or its physiological role.{{cn|date=March 2025}}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!
! Model Organism
! Common name
! Informal classification
! Usage (examples)
|-
| style="background:#ffdead;" | Virus
|[[Phi X 174]]
|ΦX174
| [[Virus]]
|evolution<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wichman |first1=Holly A. |last2=Brown |first2=Celeste J. |title=Experimental evolution of viruses: Microviridae as a model system |journal=Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |date=2010-08-27 |volume=365 |issue=1552 |pages=2495–2501 |doi=10.1098/rstb.2010.0053 |pmid=20643739 |pmc=2935103 }}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="2" style="background:#ffdead;" | Prokaryotes
| ''[[Escherichia coli]]''
|''E. coli''
| [[Bacteria]]
|bacterial genetics, metabolism
|-
| ''[[Pseudomonas fluorescens]]''
|''P. fluorescens''
| [[Bacteria]]
|evolution, adaptive radiation<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kassen |first1=Rees |title=Toward a General Theory of Adaptive Radiation |journal=Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences |date=2009-06-24 |volume=1168 |issue=1 |pages=3–22 |doi=10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.04574.x |pmid=19566701 |bibcode=2009NYASA1168....3K }}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="6" style="background:#ffdead;" | Eukaryotes, unicellular
| ''[[Dictyostelium discoideum]]''
|
| [[Amoeba]]
| immunology, host–pathogen interactions<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Dunn |first1=Joe Dan |last2=Bosmani |first2=Cristina |last3=Barisch |first3=Caroline |last4=Raykov |first4=Lyudmil |last5=Lefrançois |first5=Louise H. |last6=Cardenal-Muñoz |first6=Elena |last7=López-Jiménez |first7=Ana Teresa |last8=Soldati |first8=Thierry |title=Eat Prey, Live: Dictyostelium discoideum As a Model for Cell-Autonomous Defenses |journal=Frontiers in Immunology |date=2018-01-04 |volume=8 |pages=1906 |doi=10.3389/fimmu.2017.01906 |pmid=29354124 |pmc=5758549 |doi-access=free }}</ref>
|-
| ''[[Saccharomyces cerevisiae]]''
| Brewer's yeast<br>Baker's yeast
| [[Yeast]]
|cell division, organelles, etc.
|-
| ''[[Schizosaccharomyces pombe]]''
| Fission yeast
| [[Yeast]]
| cell cycle, cytokinesis, chromosome biology, telomeres, DNA metabolism, cytoskeleton organization, industrial applications<ref>[http://www.pombase.org/browse-curation/fypo-slim Fission Yeast GO slim terms | PomBase<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref name="pmid38376816">{{cite journal | vauthors = Rutherford KM, Lera-Ramírez M, Wood V | title = PomBase: a Global Core Biodata Resource-growth, collaboration, and sustainability | journal = Genetics | volume = 227 | issue = 1 | date = 7 May 2024 | pmid = 38376816 | pmc = 11075564  | doi = 10.1093/genetics/iyae007 }}</ref>
|-
| ''[[Chlamydomonas reinhardtii]]''
|
| [[Algae]]
|hydrogen production<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Batyrova |first1=Khorcheska |last2=Hallenbeck |first2=Patrick C. |title=Hydrogen Production by a Chlamydomonas reinhardtii Strain with Inducible Expression of Photosystem II |journal=International Journal of Molecular Sciences |date=2017-03-16 |volume=18 |issue=3 |page=647 |doi=10.3390/ijms18030647 |pmid=28300765 |pmc=5372659 |doi-access=free }}</ref>
|-
| ''[[Tetrahymena thermophila]]'', ''[[Tetrahymena pyriformis|T. pyriformis]]''
|
| [[Ciliate]]
|education,<ref>{{cite book |doi=10.1016/B978-0-12-385967-9.00016-5 |pmc=3587665 |chapter=Tetrahymena in the Classroom |title=Tetrahymena Thermophila |series=Methods in Cell Biology |year=2012 |last1=Smith |first1=Joshua J. |last2=Wiley |first2=Emily A. |last3=Cassidy-Hanley |first3=Donna M. |volume=109 |pages=411–430 |pmid=22444155 |isbn=9780123859679 }}</ref> biomedical research<ref>{{cite book |last1=Stefanidou |first1=Maria |chapter=The use of the protozoan Tetrahymena as a cell model |pages=69–88 |editor1-last=Castillo |editor1-first=Victor |editor2-last=Harris |editor2-first=Rodney |title=Protozoa: Biology, Classification and Role in Disease |date=2014 |publisher=Nova Science Publishers |isbn=978-1-62417-073-7 }}</ref>
|-
| ''[[Emiliania huxleyi]]''
|
| [[Plankton]]
|surface sea temperature<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Fielding |first1=Samuel R. |title=Emiliania huxleyi specific growth rate dependence on temperature |journal=Limnology and Oceanography |date=March 2013 |volume=58 |issue=2 |pages=663–666 |doi=10.4319/lo.2013.58.2.0663 |bibcode=2013LimOc..58..663F |doi-access=free }}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="3" style="background:#ffdead;" | Plants
| ''[[Arabidopsis thaliana]]''
| Thale cress
| [[Flowering plant]]
|population genetics<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Platt |first1=Alexander |last2=Horton |first2=Matthew |last3=Huang |first3=Yu S. |last4=Li |first4=Yan |last5=Anastasio |first5=Alison E. |last6=Mulyati |first6=Ni Wayan |last7=Ågren |first7=Jon |last8=Bossdorf |first8=Oliver |last9=Byers |first9=Diane |last10=Donohue |first10=Kathleen |last11=Dunning |first11=Megan |last12=Holub |first12=Eric B. |last13=Hudson |first13=Andrew |last14=Le Corre |first14=Valérie |last15=Loudet |first15=Olivier |last16=Roux |first16=Fabrice |last17=Warthmann |first17=Norman |last18=Weigel |first18=Detlef |last19=Rivero |first19=Luz |last20=Scholl |first20=Randy |last21=Nordborg |first21=Magnus |last22=Bergelson |first22=Joy |author-link22=Joy Bergelson|last23=Borevitz |first23=Justin O. |title=The Scale of Population Structure in Arabidopsis thaliana |journal=PLOS Genetics |date=2010-02-12 |volume=6 |issue=2 |pages=e1000843 |doi=10.1371/journal.pgen.1000843 |pmid=20169178 |pmc=2820523 |doi-access=free }}</ref>
|-
| ''[[Physcomitrella patens]]''
| Spreading earthmoss
| [[Moss]]
| molecular farming<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bohlender |first1=Lennard L. |last2=Parsons |first2=Juliana |last3=Hoernstein |first3=Sebastian N. W. |last4=Rempfer |first4=Christine |last5=Ruiz-Molina |first5=Natalia |last6=Lorenz |first6=Timo |last7=Rodríguez Jahnke |first7=Fernando |last8=Figl |first8=Rudolf |last9=Fode |first9=Benjamin |last10=Altmann |first10=Friedrich |last11=Reski |first11=Ralf |last12=Decker |first12=Eva L. |title=Stable Protein Sialylation in Physcomitrella |journal=Frontiers in Plant Science |date=2020-12-18 |volume=11 |pages=610032 |doi=10.3389/fpls.2020.610032 |pmid=33391325 |pmc=7775405 |doi-access=free }}</ref>
|-
| ''[[Populus trichocarpa#Use as a model organism|Populus trichocarpa]]''
| Balsam poplar
| [[Tree]]
|drought tolerance, lignin biosynthesis, wood formation, plant biology, morphology, genetics, and ecology<ref>{{cite journal| url = https://academic.oup.com/treephys/article/33/4/357/1716508| title = Revisiting the sequencing of the first tree genome: Populus trichocarpa {{!}} Tree Physiology {{!}} Oxford Academic| journal = Tree Physiology| date = April 2013| volume = 33| issue = 4| pages = 357–364| doi = 10.1093/treephys/tps081| last1 = Wullschleger| first1 = Stan D.| last2 = Weston| first2 = D. J.| last3 = Difazio| first3 = S. P.| last4 = Tuskan| first4 = G. A.| pmid = 23100257}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="3" style="background:#ffdead;" | Animals, nonvertebrate
| ''[[Caenorhabditis elegans]]''
|Nematode, Roundworm
| [[Worm]]
|differentiation, development
|-
| ''[[Drosophila melanogaster]]''
| Fruit fly
| [[Insect]]
|developmental biology, human brain degenerative disease<ref>{{cite journal| journal=Science Express|first1=Susan L.|last1=Lindquist|first2=Nancy M.|last2=Bonini|url=https://www.hhmi.org/news/parkinsons-disease-mechanism-discovered |title=Parkinson's Disease Mechanism Discovered |date=22 Jun 2006 |publisher=Howard Hughes Medical Institute |access-date=11 Jul 2019 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1= Kim|first1=H|last2=Raphayel |first2=A |last3=LaDow |first3=E |last4= McGurk|first4=L |last5= Weber|first5=R|last6= Trojanowski|first6=J|last7= Lee|first7=V|last8= Finkbeiner|first8=S |last9= Gitler|first9=A |last10= Bonini|first10=N |date=2014 |title=Therapeutic modulation of eIF2α-phosphorylation rescues TDP-43 toxicity in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis disease models |journal= [[Nature Genetics]]|volume=46 |issue= 2|pages= 152–60|doi= 10.1038/ng.2853|pmc= 3934366|pmid= 24336168}}</ref>
|-
| ''[[Callosobruchus maculatus]]''
| Cowpea Weevil
| [[Insect]]
|developmental biology
|-
| rowspan="9" style="background:#ffdead;" | Animals, vertebrate
| ''[[Danio rerio]]''
| Zebrafish
| [[Fish]]
|embryonic development
|-
| ''[[Mummichog|Fundulus heteroclitus]]''
| Mummichog
| [[Fish]]
| [[Behavioral endocrinology|effect of hormones on behavior]]
|-
| ''[[Nothobranchius furzeri]]''
| Turquoise killifish
| [[Fish]]
|aging, disease, evolution
|-
| ''[[Japanese rice fish|Oryzias latipes]]''
| Japanese rice fish
| [[Fish]]
|fish biology, sex determination<ref>{{cite book |doi=10.1016/B978-0-12-809633-8.03245-3 |chapter=Molecular and Chromosomal Aspects of Sex Determination |title=Reference Module in Life Sciences |year=2017 |last1=Siegfried |first1=K.R. |isbn=978-0-12-809633-8 }}
</ref>
|-
| ''[[Anolis carolinensis]]''
| Carolina anole
| [[Reptile]]
|reptile biology, evolution
|-
| ''[[Mus musculus]]''
| House mouse
| [[Mammal]]
|disease model for humans
|-
| ''[[Gallus gallus]]''
| Red junglefowl
| [[Bird]]
|embryological development and organogenesis
|-
| ''[[Australian zebra finch|Taeniopygia castanotis]]''
| Australian zebra finch
| [[Bird]]
| vocal learning, neurobiology<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mello|first1=Claudio V. |date=2014 |title= The Zebra Finch, Taeniopygia guttata: An Avian Model for Investigating the Neurobiological Basis of Vocal Learning |journal= [[Cold Spring Harbor Protocols]]|volume=2014 |issue=12 |pages= 1237–1242|doi= 10.1101/pdb.emo084574|pmc= 4571486|pmid= 25342070}}</ref>
|-
| ''[[Xenopus laevis]]''<br>''[[Western clawed frog|Xenopus tropicalis]]''<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.genomeweb.com//node/939634?hq_e=el&hq_m=701632&hq_l=1&hq_v=2de76155bb |title=JGI-Led Team Sequences Frog Genome |date=29 April 2010 |access-date=30 April 2010 |publisher=Genome Web |work=GenomeWeb.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807211657/http://www.genomeweb.com//node/939634?hq_e=el&hq_m=701632&hq_l=1&hq_v=2de76155bb |archive-date=August 7, 2011 }}</ref>
| African clawed frog<br>Western clawed frog
| [[Amphibian]]
|embryonic development
|}