Developing Girardia Dorotocephala as a Model Organism for Flatworm Sensory Biology

Abstract

The aim of this study is to understand how flatworms use their sensory capacities in their environments. Parasitic flatworms are a threat to human health globally. Understanding how these worms can find hosts to infect would help advance parasite control. This study focuses on Girardia dorotocephala, a species of free-living planaria we are developing as a flatworm model, uses chemoreceptors located in their auricles to sense their surroundings. While planaria are not parasites, they possess many of the same traits as parasites within the phylum. Both planaria and parasitic flatworms belong to the Platyhelminthes and have some of the same morphological features and molecular pathways. Because of the similarity between the two clades, we can use planaria as a model organism to better understand flatworm behavior. To initiate this project, we recorded and tracked planaria when placed in separate controlled environments. Experiment followed the planaria’s movements when placed in the presence or absence of food, or under different light conditions. We were also working on sequencing the genome to help identify genes potentially involved in sensation, setting up G. dorotocephala as a model flatworm for sensory experiments.