Various branches of biological, clinical, and environmental research depend on availability of a suitable model organism, which can mimic the actual application platform, while allowing reasonable pace of work. Research on some of the pathogens (e.g. some obligate intracellular parasites including viruses) have suffered owing to non-availability of a good model organism. On the other hand, some organisms fitted so well the criteria of being an acceptable model, that they became indispensable for research in specific domains. For example, Escherichia coli since decades has remained a handy model for bacteriological research, and one of the most popular platforms for expressing cloned genes. Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been used widely as a model yeast, and also as a platform for bioprocess intensification for industrial alcohol production. Candida albicans serves as a model for pathogenic yeasts. Mycobacterium smegmatis has offered the opportunity to researchers to develop useful insights into the genus Mycobacterium without always taking the risk of working with M. tuberculosis. The pre-clinical research in the field of medicine has relied heavily on pigs, mice, rats, and primates as model organisms. However, in recent years, there has been serious ethical concerns raised over use of higher animals in research labs, and strategies are being envisaged to reduce their sacrifice. In this view, three lower organisms have gained popularity, at least for preliminary in vivo studies. They are Caenorhabditis elegans, Drosophila melanogaster, and Zebrafish. Though they are not new to biology labs, their use has gained wider popularity in last two decades, and availability of their transgenic strains has contributed notably towards their widespread use. On the other hand, introduction of humanized models of higher animals has also been started. While use of conventional model organisms still continues, the alternative models (nematode, fly, zebrafish) are gaining popularity, new models are being proposed, the regulatory agencies globally are trying to reduce the animal sacrifice in biological and pharmaceutical research. ‘Organ on chip’ type of novel approaches are also contributing their bit in reducing use of model animals in research. The field is changing and evolving continuously and dynamically, and there is a need for researchers in the field of biology, pharmacy, cosmetics, nutraceuticals, toxicology, and environmental sciences to keep themselves updated.
In the above mentioned context, this book aims to feature manuscripts from leading researchers working on different model organisms. This collection is expected to showcase advantages and limitations of different model organisms for pre-clinical research, high throughput screening for drug discovery, environmental toxicology, and basic biological research, etc.
Table of Contents:
Part I. Microbes as model organisms in biological research.- Chapter 1 E. coli as a model for bacteriological research.- Chapter 2 S. cerevisiae as a platform for research in alcohol production.- Chapter 3 C. albicans as a model of pathogenic yeasts.- Chapter 4 M. smegmatis as a model for tuberculosis research.- Chapter 5 Chromobacterium violaceum as a model for quorum sensing in bacteria.-Chapter 6 D. radiodurans as a model for radioactivity studies.- Chapter 7 Archaea: Who can be the model for each of their unique metabolic category?.- Part II. Conventional animal models for research in health and medicine.- Chapter 8 Rat as a biological model.- Chapter 9 Mice as a biological model.- Chapter 10 Guinea pigs in biological research.- Chapter 11 Primates in biological research.-Chapter 12 Humanized animals in biological research.-Part III. Alternative model organisms for research in health and medicine.- Chapter 13 Caenorhabditis elegans as a model organism for neurological research.- Chapter 14 C. elegans as a model host for pathogenic bacteria and yeast.- Chapter 15 C. elegans as a model worm for anthelmintic research.- Chapter 16 C. elegans as a model for longevity and ageing.- Chapter 17 C. elegans as a model for diabetes research.-Chapter 18 C. elegans as a model for wound-healing.- Chapter 19 D. melanogaster in genetics research.- Chapter 20 D. melanogaster in developmental biology.- Chapter 21 Zebrafish in biomedical research.-Part IV. Novel approaches to reduce use of animals in research.-Chapter 22 Ethical concerns associated with use of animals in research, and practical challenges while trying to reduce their use.-Chapter 23 Alternatives to animal testing: “3Rs alternatives” for replacement, reduction, and refinement of animals used in research, teaching, and testing.- Chapter 24 3D-Printing and Organ-on-Chip in biomedical research.
About the Author :
Prasun Kumar holds a Ph.D. in Biotechnology from CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, Delhi, India. He is presently working as an Assistant Professor, Department of Biotechnology, Sharda University, Greater Noida, India. Earlier, he was working as an Assistant Professor at the Department of Chemical Engineering, Yeungnam University, and Republic of Korea. He has over seven years of experience in applied microbiological research including about 2 years of experience in industrial R&D. His main areas of research are bioinformatics, medical microbiology, microbial biodiversity, bioenergy, microbial biofilms, quorum sensing, quorum quenching, and genomics. His present research is oriented toward valorizing lignocellulosic biowastes into value-added products such as biopolymer, 2G ethanol, bioenergy, and antibiofilm compounds. To his credit, there are over 35 articles in SCI journals, 7 books, and 18 chapters with international publishers. He has been serving the scientific society by reviewing articles for several SCI journals and delivering guest lectures. Publons awarded him the peer review award in the year 2018. He also serves as the editorial board member of a few international journals.
Dr. Vijay Kothari is a distinguished microbiologist and faculty member at the Institute of Science, Nirma University, Ahmedabad, India, with over two decades of experience in teaching and research. His research interests include Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), Validation of Traditional Medicine, and the intriguing field of microbial response to sonic stimulation. Dr. Kothari has authored over 100 publications and edited five books. His contributions to the scientific community have been recognized with numerous accolades, such as the Sentinel of Science Award (2016) by Publons in recognition of his voluminous contribution as a peer-reviewer, the Artificial Intelligence Molecular Screen (AIMS) Award from Atomwise Inc. (2019), and the ASM Future Leaders Mentoring Fellowship (2023-27) by the American Society for Microbiology. A central pillar of his work is the extensive use of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans as a versatile in vivo model to study host-pathogen interactions, and evaluate the efficacy of potential nutraceuticals and adaptogens. By leveraging this nematode model, Dr. Kothari has significantly advanced the understanding of how natural products and sonic stimulation can modulate microbial virulence and host immunity.
