This web page was produced as an assignment for Genetics 564, an undergraduate capstone course at UW-Madison
What are model organisms?
Model organisms are important in science for being able to study disorders because it is easier, more practical, and more ethical than to study them in human patients. Many times, model organisms have faster reproductions rates and have larger quantities of offspring at one time. This allows for studies to be faster because they are gathering more data at once.
Zebrafish
Mice
There are 14 different models of mice with mutations in the MITF gene. One of example of these models, is a mutant MITFRorp/ MITFRorp. These mutants have a very similar phenotype to the phenotype seen in WS2A patients. The mice have abnormal pigmentation in their coat and iris. They also have enlarged pupils and coloboma in the eyes, which is the absence of some eye structures due to incomplete fusion during development. [1,2]
|
Analysis
Model organisms make it easier to study genes and understand their function within an organism. For this study of the MITF gene and WS2A, mice would be an ideal model organism as there are already models that have been made, they have mutations in the actual MITF gene (opposed to a different gene that results in the same phenotype like zebrafish that have mutations in sox10), and they have more phenotypes related to WS2A.
References
1. Phenotypes for Mitf MGI:2686997 MGI Mouse. (n.d.). Retrieved March 08, 2017, from http://www.informatics.jax.org/allele/genoview/MGI:2686997
2. Waardenburg Syndrome, Type 2A; WS2A MGI Mouse Model Detail - 193510. (n.d.). Retrieved March 08, 2017, from http://www.informatics.jax.org/disease/193510
3. ZFIN Fish: sox10^t3/t3. (n.d.). Retrieved March 08, 2017, from https://zfin.org/ZDB-FISH-150901-17912
1. Phenotypes for Mitf MGI:2686997 MGI Mouse. (n.d.). Retrieved March 08, 2017, from http://www.informatics.jax.org/allele/genoview/MGI:2686997
2. Waardenburg Syndrome, Type 2A; WS2A MGI Mouse Model Detail - 193510. (n.d.). Retrieved March 08, 2017, from http://www.informatics.jax.org/disease/193510
3. ZFIN Fish: sox10^t3/t3. (n.d.). Retrieved March 08, 2017, from https://zfin.org/ZDB-FISH-150901-17912