DMMC Course: TECHNIQUES & STRATEGIES IN MOLECULAR MEDICINE

1645-1730 Monday 4 December 2006. UCD Conway Institute Lecture Theatre, UCD

Model organisms
Dr Breandán Kennedy (UCD Conway Institute of Biomolecular & Biomedical Research)

The goal of this lecture is to discuss animal models that are routinely applied to biomedical research. The advantages of using Drosophila (fly), Xenopus (frog), Danio (zebrafish), Gallus (chicken) and Mus Musculus (mouse) as model organisms will be described. The life-cycle, generation time, embryo development and amenability of these organisms to genetic manipulation will be discussed. An emphasis will be placed on describing mutagenesis screens. This technique, in which the genes in the genome are randomly inactivated, has been extensively applied to the fly/fish models and has accelerated our understanding of gene function (functional genomics).