History of model organisms

Beginning in the early 1900s Drosophila entered the research laboratories and opened up the doors for other model organisms like tobacco mosaic virus, E. coli, C57BL/6 (lab mice), etc.

A man by the name of Jacques Loeb also tried experimentation in mutations of Drosophila independently of Morgan's work during the first decade of the twentieth century.

[4] Thomas Hunt Morgan is considered to be one of the most influential men in experimental biology during the early twentieth century and his work with the Drosophila was extensive.

[6] This invention allowed microbiologists to see objects that were far too small to be seen by any light microscope and thus viruses which had perplexed biologists of many fields for years, now came under scientific scrutiny.

Organisms like Drosophila and Tribolium were much too large and too complex for the simple quantitative experiments that men like Wendell Stanley wanted to perform.

Tobacco mosaic virus has RNA that stacks itself in a distinctive way that was influenced development of the double-helical model of the structure for DNA.

[10] Bacteriophages (viruses that infect bacteria) have been studied since 1939 as experimental model organisms for understanding numerous fundamental biological processes at the molecular level.

The phage group, initially an informal network of biologists centered on Max Delbrück, contributed substantially to bacterial genetics and the origins of molecular biology in the mid-20th century.

Due to freedom in the way Castle was allowed to run the laboratory and his financial backing by the University they were able to create an extensive program in mammalian genetics.

The fact that they had been bred by ‘rat fanciers' for hundreds of years allowed for diverse populations of an animal while the public held far less sentiment for these rodents than they did for dogs and cats.

He would continue his work with these mice and used his research to demonstrate that inbreeding is an effective way of eliminate variation and served to preserve unique genetic variants.

The transition for these laboratories to exporters of massive quantities of mice was one that was rather easily made if there were adequate facilities for their production on site.

Eventually in the mid-1930s the market would return and genetics laboratories around the country resumed regular funding and thus continued in the areas of research they had started before the depression.