Christine Merlin Lab at Texas A&M University Recognized for Pioneering Research in Non-Model Organisms
By: TAMU Biology
The lab of Professor Christine Merlin at Texas A&M University has been highlighted as one of 10 neuroscience labs by The Transmitter, a leading neuroscience research news publication funded by the Simons Foundation, for their pioneering work using the monarch butterfly as a non-model organism for circadian and navigation research. The article, entitled “The non-model organism ‘renaissance’ has arrived – Meet 10 neuroscientists bringing model diversity back with the funky animals they study,” underscores the importance of model diversity in neuroscience.
The Transmitter’s piece emphasizes the resurgence of interest in non-model organisms, a trend that is reshaping the field of neuroscience. Historically, a wide variety of animals were studied to uncover fundamental principles of the nervous system. However, the focus shifted towards a few standard model organisms by the end of the 20th century. Today, advancements in technology and cost reductions are enabling researchers to explore a broader range of species once again.
Dr. Christine Merlin’s research on monarch butterflies is a prime example of this renaissance. Every September and October, a single generation of monarch butterflies migrates thousands of miles from Canada and the northern United States to Mexico, guided by their circadian clocks. Dr. Merlin’s lab, located in College Station, Texas, hand-raises a colony of about 1,500 butterflies each month to study genetic knockouts and gain insights into the molecules underpinnings the workings of their circadian clocks and migratory behavior.
“You can imagine why I’m working on something like that,” says Christine Merlin. “Migration is a mind-blowing biological phenomenon that is widespread across the animal kingdom – and for which the genetic control remains a scientific enigma.”
The Merlin Lab’s work highlights the advantages of studying non-model organisms. Not only do monarchs use a circadian clock to guide their iconic migration, these clocks have retained mammalian components that have been lost in fruit flies, the key genetic insect model, but are simpler than the mammalian circadian clock, making them an ideal model to also study the genetic and molecular mechanisms underlying circadian rhythms relevant to humans. Because clocks operate in clock neurons and glial cells, this research not only provides specific insights into the nervous system but also has the potential to contribute to our understanding of the evolution of the brain.
