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.

Escherichia coli is a bacterium that is commonly found in the intestine of warm-blooded organisms (endotherms). Most strains are harmless, but some can cause food poisoning. The harmless strains are part of the normal microbiota of the gut. E. coli can be grown and cultured easily and inexpensively in a laboratory setting, and can reproduced in as little as 20 minutes, all of which make it a popular model organism.

Pichia pastoris is a species of yeast that uses methanol as a source of energy. It is often used to express specifically tailored proteins and is a popular model organism for genetic study.  P. pastoris is very important in biological research and for biotech applications.

To understand human biology and develop therapies for human diseases, we can start from non-human model organisms, but eventually, we have to study human beings themselves. At VIB researchers work with induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) and specific cell lines (e.g. HEK293), but also with patients that have a specific conditions and healthy donors.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is bacterium that can cause disease in plants and animals, including humans. It is well-known for its resistance against many drugs and treatments. It is also capable of living in many environments, which, combined with its multi-drug resistance, makes it an organism of considerable medical importance.