Drosophila melanogaster, the common fruit fly, breeds abundantly in laboratory conditions. The animals are easy to rear and studying them has elucidated many mysteries in various fields of biology.  

Mice and rats (Mus musculus and Rattus norvegicus) are the most common mammalian lab animals. Their relatively close relationship to humans as well as the ease of handling and maintenance and a fully sequenced genome make them particularly suitable for the first steps in human-oriented research in fields as genetics, medicine, and psychology.

Arabidopsis thaliana, or the thale cress, is an annual plant with a short life cycle. Together with its relatively small genome, these qualities have rapidly made it into one of the primary model organisms in plant biology and genetics.

The zebrafish (or Danio rero) is a small freshwater fish that is widely used a vertebrate model organism in research. They are well-known for their regenerative capability and many transgenic strains have been developed for, among others, their use in drug development.

Yeast (Saccharomyces sp.), a single-celled organism used in, among others baking and brewing, is also a very influential model organism in all fields of genetics. Both their use in various industries and capacity to sexually reproduce makes them primary study subjects in a wide range of both fundamental and applied enquiries.

Poplars (Populus sp.) are an up-and-coming model organism in plant biology and genetics. As an ecological keystone species that is outbreeding, these plants possess a large amount of genetic variation which makes them excellent models for the study of (plant) genetics.

Wheat (Triticum sp.) is another staple crop that is a valuable model organism as it can be used as a proxy for many of the other grains. Wheat is very sensitive to environmental changes, which makes it a vital research tool to understand the impact of climate change on the growth and nutritional profile of various grains that are the basis for a large part of the global agricultural industry.

Xenopus, the clawed frog, is a genus of amphibians that is often studied in developmental biology and cell biology. They are often used to model human disease and birth defects, and their polyploidy (having more than two sets of chromosomes) makes them very interesting for genetic studies.

Maize (Zea mays) is one of the world’s most cultivated staple crops and an important biofuel source. It has been used in genetic studies for several decades and the generations of mutant strains have cemented its place as one of the most important model organisms in plant genetics, development, domestication, and pest resistance.

Tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum) are representatives of a plant family that includes potatoes, eggplants, and peppers. This makes them a very valuable model organism to study fruit development in a variety of plants. Additionally, tomatoes contain a wide range of molecules that impact taste and nutrition.