3.1 Pre-lab: Model Organisms

Image credit: Max Westby. Some of the most important genetic model organisms in use today. Clockwise from top left: yeast, fruit fly, arabidopsis, mouse, roundworm, zebrafish. License: CC ANS 2.5

3.1.1 Purpose

The two tutorials in this pre-lab will familiarize you with the concepts of model organisms, with an emphasis on Drosophila. In Lab 8, this information will help you look up information about Drosophila genes.

3.1.2 Learning Objectives

  1. Explain the importance of model organisms and identify some of their desirable characteristics.
  2. Describe the usefulness of Drosophila as a model system.

3.1.3 Introduction

Scientists frequently use a few specific organisms, called “model organisms” for their experiments. This tutorial will introduce you to a few of the most popular model organisms and will discuss why these organisms were chosen and what they are useful for.

The fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) is a popular model organism used to study a wide range of biological questions. The second tutorial will introduce you to some of the types of research being conducted with fruit flies, give a brief overview of Drosophila biology, and show you what it’s like to work with Drosophila in the lab.

3.1.4 Activity 1 - Model Organisms

Estimated time: 15 min

3.1.4.1 Instructions

  1. Click here to open the Model Organisms Tutorial.
  2. To move through the activities click “Continue” at the bottom of the screen. When you are done with a topic, click “Next Topic” to move on.
  3. As you complete the tutorial, answer the questions below.

3.1.4.2 Questions

1A. Explain what a “model organism” is and why they are useful.


1B. Define ortholog and explain how model organisms can be used to understand human genes.


1C. Name 4 commonly used model organisms

3.1.5 Activity 2 - Drosophila melanogaster

Estimated time: 15 min

3.1.5.1 Instructions

  1. Click here to open the Drosophila melanogaster Tutorial.
  2. To move through the activities click “Continue” at the bottom of the screen. When you are done with a topic, click “Next Topic” to move on.
  3. As you complete the tutorial, answer the questions below.

3.1.5.2 Questions

2A. Provide 3 reasons why fruit flies are useful for scientific research.


2B. List 3 ways in which fruit flies are similar to humans.


2C. Compare and contrast the fruit fly genome to the human genome.


2D. Briefly describe the fruit fly life cycle.

3.1.6 Footnotes

3.1.6.1 Resources

3.1.6.2 Contributions and Affiliations

  • Stephanie R. Coffman, Ph.D.

Last Revised: February 2022

All materials CC-BY unless noted otherwise.