The rise to dominance of genetic model organisms and the decline of curiosity-driven organismal research

Abstract

Curiosity-driven, basic biological research “…performed without thought of practical ends…” establishes fundamental conceptual frameworks for future technological and medical breakthroughs. Traditionally, curiosity-driven research in biological sciences has utilized experimental organisms chosen for their tractability and suitability for studying the question of interest. This approach leverages the diversity of life to uncover working solutions (adaptations) to problems encountered by living things, and evolutionary context as to the extent to which these solutions may be generalized to other species. Despite the well-documented success of this approach, funding portfolios of United States granting agencies are increasingly filled with studies on a few species for which cutting-edge molecular tools are available (genetic model organisms). While this narrow focus may be justified for biomedically-focused funding bodies such as the National Institutes of Health, it is critical that robust federal support for curiosity-driven research using diverse experimental organisms be maintained by agencies such as the National Science Foundation. Using the disciplines of neurobiology and behavioral research as an example, this study finds that NSF grant awards have declined in association with a decrease in the proportion of grants funded for experimental, rather than genetic model organism research. The decline in use of experimental organisms in the literature mirrors but predates the shift grant funding. Today’s dominance of genetic model organisms was thus initiated by researchers themselves and/or by publication peer review and editorial preferences, and was further reinforced by pressure from granting agencies, academic employers, and the scientific community.

Model worms: knowledge gains and risks associated with the use of model species in parasitological research

“…Third, however attractive research on laboratory models may be, especially when the research question requires established protocols or ready-made genomic tools, it cannot fully replace research on a broader range of parasite species if we are to achieve general answers to big questions. Recent evidence indicates that research funding goes preferentially to projects using established model organisms, at the expense of projects on non-traditional study organisms representing a broader taxonomic diversity (Farris, 2020). Research on both laboratory model helminths and an array of non-model species is necessary to attain a full understanding of the many issues of interest and relevance to parasitologists.…”

March Mammal Madness and the power of narrative in science outreach

“…By weaving together elements of the humanities and social sciences into the tournament, both in the delivery and design, March Mammal Madness models important approaches to science communication ( Bush et al, 2018 ; Neeley et al, 2020 ), scientific literacy ( Roth and Lee, 2002 ), and biodiversity conservation ( Bennett et al, 2017 ; Lenda et al, 2020 ). Importantly, by crafting stories of organisms and the rich details of their lives, and highlighting the exquisite work of well-known and emerging naturalists, March Mammal Madness contributes to a necessary “revitalization of natural history” ( Tewksbury et al, 2014 ) that fosters curiosity-driven learning ( Farris, 2020 ).…”

Wikidata and the bibliography of life

“…The effort devoted to studying different taxa is very uneven, such that in species-rich groups such as Coleoptera (beetles) an individual species may be the subject of a publication only once every 100 years ( May, 1988 ). This uneven coverage is only likely to increase with the growing importance of citizen science ( Troudet et al, 2017 ) and the increasing dominance of research on model organisms ( Farris, 2020 ). For many species the taxonomic literature will be the best (possibly the only) source of published information on that species, hence arguably the only database that could claim to be a bibliography of life is one that includes all taxa, that is, it includes all the taxonomic literature.…”