Manual provides laboratory methods, information and resources on new collection of model species

Mice, frogs, and E. coli are standard organisms in biology laboratories. But in the last few years, due in part to technical advances, the reduced costs of genome sequencing, and increased interest in evolution and development, the range of organisms used for research has greatly expanded. Scientists now have more flexibility in choosing a model system that might better address their specific research question.

Eighteen diverse organisms are presented in a new volume of Emerging Model Organisms: A Laboratory Manual, recently published by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press. This second volume expands the collection of species presented in the first volume. Species range from honeybee, ant, and beetle to Ciona and amphioxus; squid and salamander to yam, Paramecium, and wallaby. Some are completely new to the laboratory, and others are lesser-known or have undergone a recent expansion.

Like the first volume, each chapter presents a different organism and provides a detailed explanation of why it is useful for laboratory research, along with information on husbandry, genetics and genomics, pointers toward further resources, and a set of basic laboratory protocols for working with that organism. It is geared towards research scientists at all levels--from graduate students to principal investigators.

The manual will provide opportunities to address new and unusual questions in biology, and help scientists choose an organism to precisely fit their needs. The manual includes ants, a model for social complexity; the red flour beetle, a model for pest biology; the Hawaiian bobtail squid, a model for mutualism and morphological innovations; and "The Mother of Thousands," a model for asexual reproduction in plants. For a complete list of organisms, see http://www.cshlpress.com/link/emo2p.htm.