Stem Cells and Regeneration in Planaria: Lab Report/Research Project
You will be given several planaria (Dugesia tigrens) to observe. You will gather data about their normal behavior and then compare their behaviors after they have regenerated. You will write a four-part lab report with an extensive introduction section over the next five weeks of class.
You will decide where to cut your planaria (no more than two animals) after reading about regeneration. I will show you how to handle your animals and we will try to take good care so that no animals die. Complete regeneration takes about ten days to two weeks. I’ve allowed four weeks in case of death or disaster!
I will help you decide on a good way of testing your animal’s behaviors before and after being cut. You will need to take good data so you can quickly write a lab report when the investigation is complete.
Class time for the first two weeks will be devoted to lectures and readings about stem cells, which are what permit planaria to regrow body parts. Homework will be your own research, writing and drawings to complete the background section of the Introduction section of your lab report. Background information is given so that basically any literate person can understand what the experiment was testing, the outcome, and the interpretation of the results. Here are the topics you need to cover: (Because this will all be part of the Introduction you do not need a title or heading on the paper – for me to know what it is (!) please call it Henry’s Planaria Background Information)
Part One:
Planaria anatomy and physiology:
* Labeled diagrams of their body plan with the nervous, reproductive, digestive and circulatory systems clearly labeled. Body parts such as ocelli and pharynx should be labeled as well; you will need to know about all of these to work with your animal. I will give you some handouts; if you want to use these you can, OR you can find good colored ones online to embed.
*A description of how these systems work in flatworms: this section should answer at least these questions:
How and when do they reproduce? There are several ways…
What do they eat and how do they find and obtain food?
How do they eliminate wastes?
What senses do they have; what stimuli do they respond to? Knowing this will help you design a fair test for your animal.
THIS PART OF THE INTRODUCTION IS DUE BEFORE YOU BEGIN TO WORK WITH
YOUR ANIMAL:
DUE monday, january 16th - better earlier!
if printed, put in my mailbox by friday January 13
If your google doc does not have diagrams please tell me at the bottom that you are using the printed ones i gave you, and put them (labelled) in my physical mailbox
Part Two: When I come back I will again go over the HHMI video and clarify anything still confusing from your study guide.
Stem cell science:
Using your textbook (10.4) and the two videos watched in class, please tell your reader what stem cells are and how they relate to planaria regeneration. Answer and discuss as many of these topics as you can understand:
- How are stem cells different from regular body cells?
- What is the difference between totipotent, pluripotent, and multipotent stem cells?
- What are some well-understood examples from human body tissues?
- What is the main danger of using stem cells to cure diseases or help with a disability?
- What are planarian stem cells called?
- How is the distribution in newts and planarians different from human stem cells?
- How do differentiating stem cells know where to go in a regenerating newt (or planarian)?
You can certainly recap other parts of your reading or the video. I don’t expect that all of your will understand everything covered, so please only include facts you can really explain in your report.
THIS PART OF THE LAB REPORT IS
DUE MONDAY, JANUARY 23RD.
I SUGGEST YOU WRITE WHAT YOU CAN BEFORE THAT AND THEN ADD/EDIT AFTER I SEE YOU ON WEDNESDAY JANUARY18TH.