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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Columbia, Missouri » Biological Control of Insects Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #396867
Research Project: Biologically-Based Products for Insect Pest Control and Emerging Needs in Agriculture

Location: Biological Control of Insects Research

Title: What is in a model

Author
item Kang, Dave
item KIM, YONGGYUN - Andong National University
item Stanley, David

Submitted to: Archives of Insect Biochemistry and Physiology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/26/2022
Publication Date: 9/26/2022
Citation: Kang, D.S., Kim, Y., Stanley, D.W. 2022. What is in a model. Archives of Insect Biochemistry and Physiology. 112(1). Article 21972. https://doi.org/10.1002/arch.21972.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/arch.21972

Interpretive Summary: The technical literature has several contradictory claims of model status for some insect species. One scientific publication claims a given species is a model and other publications say that species is not a model. This lack of clarity creates problems, especially for younger scientists who are responsible for designing novel and meaningful research programs in university, government and industrial settings. Selecting appropriate study species for study is an important aspect of designing research programs because working with an inappropriate species can reduce the potential impact of the research. Understanding that research is very expensive in terms of money and time, a clear understanding of model species is necessary. This publication is designed to bring necessary clarity into selecting model or non-model study species for research programs.

Technical Abstract: The technical literature has several contradictory claims of model status for some insect species, from which we understand a brief discussion of the topic is necessary. Here, we document examples where clarity on model status is lacking. Then we briefly review work on widely recognized models and offer criteria for including any given species as a model organism. We propose model organisms are easily maintained in culture systems, research findings in models apply to a broad range of other organisms, models are research subjects of many scientists, they prompt hypotheses that are testable in other organisms and work on model species leads to publications in respected journals.