Open AccessThe Future of Gene-Guided Neuroscience Research in Non-Traditional Model Organisms
Author(s) -
Scott A. Juntti
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
brain, behavior and evolution
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.05
H-Index - 77
eISSN - 1421-9743
pISSN - 0006-8977
DOI - 10.1159/000500072
Subject(s) - neuroethology , model organism , biology , organism , cognitive science , crispr , neuroscience , trait , function (biology) , genome editing , computational biology , computer science , data science , evolutionary biology , gene , psychology , genetics , sensory system , programming language
Natural variations across animals in form, function, and behavior have long been sources of inspiration to scientists. Despite this, experimentalists focusing on the neural bases of behavior have increasingly focused on a select few model species. This consolidation is motivated primarily by the availability of resources and technologies for manipulation in these species. Recent years have witnessed a proliferation of experimental approaches that were developed primarily in traditional model species, but that may in principle be readily applied to any species. High-throughput sequencing, CRISPR gene editing, transgenesis, and other technologies have enabled new insights through their deployment in non-traditional model species. The availability of such approaches changes the calculation of which species to study, particularly when a trait of interest is most readily observed in a non-traditional model organism. If these technologies are widely adopted in many new species, it promises to revolutionize the field of neuroethology.