Flypaper: the documentality of model organisms

Purpose This article examines whether model organisms can be understood as documents in the life sciences and then develops a document theoretical account that explains how their use supports scientific knowledge production. Design/methodology/approach The article presents a conceptual analysis of whether model organisms satisfy Buckland's (1997) four document properties. It examines the use of model organisms by drawing on Rheinberger's (1997) concepts of technical object, epistemic thing and experimental system. The analysis considers how model organisms function as indexes. Findings The analysis suggests that model organisms meet Buckland's criteria. Within experimental systems, they operate as technical objects oriented toward epistemic things and shape the production of knowledge. The article identifies a distinctive “one-to-others” indexicality through which model organisms point beyond themselves to conserved biological mechanisms shared across different species. This form of indexicality extends document theory beyond its traditional focus on “auto-documents” and “specimens.” The analysis also highlights the ethical implications of treating living entities as documents. Originality/value The article demonstrates that model organisms can be understood as living documents in the life sciences and introduces “one-to-others” indexicality. By connecting document theory with scholarship on experimental systems from the history and sociology of science, the article shows how model organisms function as living technical objects and exert distinct forms of documentality. The findings offer a perspective on how documents are central to the production of scientific knowledge and underscore the need for further research on the ethical dimensions of documentality in the life sciences.