Human Genome Project - Essay Example

The paper 'Human Genome Project' is an excellent example of genetics research. 
Scientists prefer the use of model organisms in their research due to ethical considerations involving genetic research. There are various ethical considerations regarding gene experimentation and manipulation in high-level organisms. To avoid these ethical considerations and other regulations, researchers opt to use model organisms to further their research in genetics. Most of these organisms have been used for decades and this makes them attractive to study. Scientists use these organisms as a means of obtaining information regarding other higher-level species such as humans.

Most of the organisms in this essay share one similar characteristic; they are useful in genetic analysis. This is because these organisms have a shorter generation span and breed in large numbers (Carroll & Fitzgerald 2003, p5). These large numbers make it possible to generate different mutants and researchers are able to develop detailed genetic maps from the mutated organisms. This paper, therefore, aims at describing four non-mammalian multi-cellular model hosts that are used in determining host-pathogen interactions.  These non-mammalian multi-cellular model hosts described here include zebrafish, Caenorhabditis elegans, Drosophila melanogaster, and Arabidopsis thaliana.

Introduction

Each model organism has own advantages and disadvantages when it comes to genetic research. Some of the advantages include being related; that is, the organisms occupy a pivotal position in an organism’s evolutionary tree. Others include the genome quality that makes them ideal to study. The relevance of their genome quality of these model organisms to that of humans makes them ideal to study and research on (Lange 2011, p15). This relevance is important and is often the main reason they are used in genetic testing. However, these simple animals lack some advanced features. For this reason, other model animals such as the mouse are preferred.   

Over the last two decades, the zebrafish has been used by scientist as a model for understanding the impact that pathogens have on their host bodies. In other research fields, the zebrafish is also used to study defects that occur during birth due to its powerful genetics and beautiful embryology. These properties amongst others have made the zebrafish a useful model in understanding the formation and spread of cell populations within organisms.

The zebrafish is a freshwater fish found in the rivers of Southern Asia. The fish is preferred as a model organism for disease research due to its size and ease of culture (Langheinrich 2003, p905). For this reason, most biologists prefer the zebrafish to other model organisms during the research of pathogens. Their rapid growth also makes the zebrafish a specimen for biologists keen on studying embryonic development. The latter is possible due to the transparent embryos and the similarity between the embryonic development of zebrafish and higher vertebrates such as humans.

Caenorhabditis elegans is the botanical name for a soil-dwelling roundworm that has been used by scientists as a model organism since 1974. This transparent nematode is 1 mm long and lives in temperate soil environments. Due to the extensive research using the Caenorhabditis elegans (C.elegans), it is usually an important animal model in several biological fields including neurobiology, genetics, and developmental biology just to name a few (Lacchini et al. 2007, p13). The characteristics of this nematode have made it a preferred organism in research labs worldwide.

Nematodes, in general, are small but numerous and form a majority of the ecological system. It is estimated that 4/5 of all animal species are nematodes. In addition, nematodes are often a harmless species found in almost all ecological systems (Leung et al. 2008, p.11). However, there are notorious nematodes that are parasites and they have infected a significant portion of the human population; almost 30%. There are known to be the primary causative agents for diseases such as elephantiasis, trichinosis among other infections.

Drosophila melanogaster, or simply the fruit fly, is another example of a model organism used in the research of host-pathogen relation and genetic research. The fruit fly is an insect that feeds from spoiled fruit and breeds in the same. In the field of research, the fruit fly has been used for over 100 years and has a large following in terms of researchers who use it as a model organism (Jafari 2010, p. 254).  Similar to the C.elegans, hordes of researchers prefer the fruit fly due to the numerous scientists who preceded them. Furthermore, there is vast data regarding the handling of the flies, their physiology and development.

In terms of organism models, the Arabidopsis thaliana is the primary model organism in plant biology. It is significant in plant biology is similar to that of Drosophila melanogaster or C.elegans in animal biology. Arabidopsis thaliana is a dicot and an angiosperm from the Brassicaceae (mustard) family. It has little or no commercial value and is regarded as a weed. Several factors have led to its being the foremost choice when it comes to planting biology. First, A. thaliana in comparison to other plants has the smallest genomes (Meinke 1998, p.671). There is extensive genetic on all its 5 chromosomes and their physical maps.

Conclusion

The value of the aforementioned model organisms to the scientific fraternity is immeasurable. They have helped advance the Human Genome Project to greater lengths and enabled us to further understand genetic mapping. However, the majority of scientists and researchers regard model organisms as generic tools for use in experiments. This should not be the case because model organisms are in their own right, a unique way of understanding life (Carroll & Fitzgerald 2003, p. 31). The experimental practices performed on model organisms such as molecular sequencing assist in the further understanding of life itself. In summary, model organisms have tremendously contributed to the development of cures of infectious diseases. Their contribution to science should be duly noted and upheld by all.