A tractability atlas for experimental organism selection

Choosing an experimental organism is an important decision in biological research, yet these choices are often constrained by tractability or awareness of available options. We present the Organism Tractability Atlas, a surveyable map of the practical tractability landscape for ~15,000 organisms across the tree of life, which we plan to update periodically. We generated the atlas by systematically aggregating measurable signals of community activity, experimental infrastructure, experimental tooling, throughput capacity, and logistical requirements. We created an interactive resource to enable researchers to more easily navigate trade-offs between scientific fit and experimental tractability, identify underexplored organisms with strong existing infrastructure, and make more data-driven organismal choices. This work complements our other organism selection tools and resources by adding a critical tractability layer for practical decision making.