Chapter 3 - Invertebrate models in translational research: lessons from Caenorhabditis elegans and Drosophila melanogaster

Abstract

Advances in biomedical research have provided unprecedented opportunities to understand the complexities of human disease and translate these findings from the laboratory bench to the patient's bedside. Many of these biomedical advances are due to discoveries made using invertebrate model organisms. This chapter discusses how two invertebrate model organisms, the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans (hereafter: C. elegans) and the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster (hereafter: Drosophila), are used in translational research. We enumerate the contributions of these two model organisms to understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms of human disease and discuss current research approaches using C. elegans and Drosophila to study human disease.