Aquaculture America 2020

February 9 - 12, 2020

Honolulu, Hawaii

PLANARIA CULTURE SYSTEMS AT STOWERS INSTITUTE FOR MEDICAL RESEARCH

 
 Katie Evans*,  M. Shane Merryman, Shane Miller, Andrew Vogelsang, Corey Abrams, Rachel Watson, Olivia Lynch , and  Diana  P. Baumann
 Stowers Institute for Medical Research
1000 E 50th Street
 Kansas City, MO 64110
klk@stowers.org

The Aquatics team  at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research (SIMR) maintain multiple planaria species, including Schmidtea mediterranea , Schmidtea polychroa , Dugesia japonica , Dugesia sanchezi , Dugesia dorotocephala , Phagocata gracillis , Phagocata velata , Girardia tigrina , and Girardia guanajuatiensis . The most widely used species at SIMR is Schmidtea mediterranea.

Traditionally, the husbandry and care for planarians in a laboratory setting has been provided

using a static culture methodology which has the capacity to consume a considerable

amount of resources including space, supplies, time, and manual labor. This is particularly true

for large planarian colonies. Here we present alternative culture methodologies to improve efficiency,  maximize space usage, and reduce labor. Using recirculating  and flow-through aquaculture systems,  feeding can be intensified, and good water quality can be maintained for significantly longer periods of time. Therefore, these systems reduce the constraints commonly encountered when managing static cultures. We will review multiple designs of recirculating and flow-through systems that have  been tailored to optimize growth and reproduction of both the asexual and sexual Schmidtea mediterranea.