Promoting validation and cross-phylogenetic integration in model organism research

Abstract

Model organism (MO) research provides a basic understanding of biology and disease due to the evolutionary conservation of the molecular and cellular language of life. MOs have been used to identify and understand the function of orthologous genes, proteins, cells and tissues involved in biological processes, to develop and evaluate techniques and methods, and to perform whole-organism-based chemical screens to test drug efficacy and toxicity. However, a growing richness of datasets and the rising power of computation raise an important question: How do we maximize the value of MOs? In-depth discussions in over 50 virtual presentations organized by the National Institutes of Health across more than 10 weeks yielded important suggestions for improving the rigor, validation, reproducibility and translatability of MO research. The effort clarified challenges and opportunities for developing and integrating tools and resources. Maintenance of critical existing infrastructure and the implementation of suggested improvements will play important roles in maintaining productivity and facilitating the validation of animal models of human biology and disease.

A web-based histology atlas for the freshwater Cladocera speciesDaphnia magna

“…The pipeline of our atlas was designed with the capability to expand the ontology as more cell or tissue being identified and labeled, and with the intent to extend its features to the other model species. Our ambition is to contribute to the call for cross-species atlas which will be a key resource for the assessment of phenotypes and diseases (96).…”

Trawling aquatic life for new models in biomedical research and evolutionary developmental biology

“…Our special issue was born from the overarching topic of this conference and a preceding webinar series: “Emerging Aquatic Models and Research Organisms”. Additional major discussion points at the conference were the importance of developing computational methods for cross‐species data integration and the validation of research findings from aquatic models to human phenotypes, as also emphasized by other initiatives in the larger research model community (Cheng et al, 2022). The conference was attended by a diverse group of about 150 international scholars at all career stages and included twelve scientific symposia and three workshops on aquatic genomics, nutrition, and germ cell cryopreservation.…”

Back to the future through the wormhole: Caenorhabditis elegans as a preclinical model

“…It is now clear that the coalescence of human clinical and genomic information with decades of experimental experience in laboratory systems enables in-depth genomic and phenotypic characterization of function ( Cheng et al, 2022 ). The directed application of the microscopic roundworm – arguably the most well understood animal on our planet – towards discerning the functional significance of human genomic variation represents a logical progression in the arc of research, but it is also an innovative strategy to accelerate personalized or precision medicine ( Mew et al, 2022 ).…”