why is the fruit fly a model organism?
conventional and molecular genetics
easy to keep, fast life cycle
cheap!
many embryos available
why is xenopus a model organism?
embryonic development in vertebrates!
eggs are large and easily accessible
development outside the body
can inject molecules into the eggs - manipulate gene function
why is the zebrafish a model organism?
similar to xenopus - eggs are large, easily accessible
fertilised outside animal
can do developmental genetics - compact genome, 3 months generation time,
see- through eggs for first 2 weeks - can watch behaviour of genes