Model Organisms

Question 1

Escherichia coli is used to study _____

Answer 1

It is the best characterized prokaryote

Question 2

What are some of the advantages of using E.coli in the lab?

Answer 2

• common
• Easy to grow
• robust
• cloning

Question 3

Yeast

Answer 3

The simplest eukaryotes. But it is robust and reproduces quickly

Question 4

What are the organelles observed in a yeast cell

Answer 4

Since yeast are eukaryotes:

• Golgi apparatus
• Nucleus
• Vacuoles
• Mitochondrion
• Cell wall and Membrane

Question 5

Why is yeast an important model organism?

Answer 5

Yeast are important experimental models for eukaryotic cell biology

Question 6

What are some of the research involving yeast?

Answer 6

• Carbohydrate biochemistry (fermentation)
• Cell cycle research
• temperature sensitive mutants

Question 7

What is the species chosen by plant molecular biologist?

Answer 7

Arabidospsis thaliana “common watercress”

Used in the study of higher plants. They have a very short lifespan (mere weeks). Genome is 110 M base pairs

Question 8

Nematode worm goes by what scientific name?

Answer 8

Caenorhabditis elegans

Question 9

The nematode worm serves as a model for _____-

Answer 9

The study of animal development.

Question 10

Why is the nematode worm used to study animal development?

Answer 10

It has about 959 somatic cells in one C. elegans. The lineage of every cell is known, hence good for developmental biology.
Also, well suited for genetic analysis

Question 11

Drosophila melanogaster is used to study _______

Answer 11

genetics. It was the first animal model used for genetic analysis.

Question 12

What are some of the key features being studied with drosophila as an animal model?

Answer 12

• Neuroscience
• Gene expression
• Biological clocks
• Development

Question 13

Why is drosophila used to study genetics?

Answer 13

Has enormous (polytene) chromosomes

Question 14

Zebrafish

Answer 14

Danio rerio. Used to as an animal model for vertebrates.

Question 15

What are some key features being studied with the zebrafish?

Answer 15

• Vertebrate genetics
• Development
• Neuroscience
• Behavior
• TRANSGENICS!!

Question 16

Mus musculus is used as the model organism for _____

Answer 16

Mammalian cell biology

Question 17

What are some of the advantages of using mus musculus?

Answer 17

• Transgenic mice are relatively easy to produce
• Complete genome sequence is available
• Extrapolation to human is usually possible

Question 18

The yeast saccharomyces

Answer 18

Model for eukaryotic research. It is at least as closely related to plants as it is to animals. It has a rigid cell wall, is relatively immobile, and possesses mitochondria but not chloroplast. When nutrients are plentiful, it reproduces almost as fast as bacterium.

Question 19

What proved that genes were carried in the chromosome?

Answer 19

Studies on fruit flies

Question 20

What does temperature sensitive mutant mean?

Answer 20

When a gen mutation is conditional to certain specifications. In this case, a temperature sensitive mutant might work perfectly in cold temperatures, but when the temperature is elevated, the heat destroys the protein’s structure and by proxy, its function.

Question 21

Yeast

Answer 21

Unicellular fungi

Question 22

Why is drosophila melanogaster ideal for research in genetics?

Answer 22

Drosophila has an extremely big chromosome.