Planaria Lab

OUR
GROUP

Audrey, Jake, Katie,

Estelle, Holly

Question:
Are stem cells evenly distributed throughout the body of a
planarian, if they arent where are they the most
concentrated?And if they arent evenly distributed will the
cut number affect the growth rate?

Background Information
(Planarian)
Free living Flatworms in the Turbellaria class
Live in wet environments
Scavengers
Has a simple nervous system that includes something called ganglion that serves as a
brain, but most of its sense organs are located in the anterior region
Does not have gills or lungs, instead gets its oxygen by simple diffusion (process
where a substance passes through a membrane without any help from, for example, a
protein)
Planarian can reprouduce sezually but can also reproudce asexually
Asexual reproduction is done through something called transverse fission
the planarian will pull itself apart and the TAIL section will regenerate a new
head forming the new planaria (the head will regenerate a new tail)
there are 241 genes that are involved in the regeneration of Planaria
The Planarian are bilaterally symmetrical (two eye spots on top of the head)
this helps the worm reproduce quickly (asexually) because each piece will have
the same genetic material as the other pieces of the worm

Background (Stem Cells)

Stem cells have the ability to give rise to more stem cells and from those cells
other types of cells can start to be created
Stem cells can regenerate limbs and or organs (humans can regenerate parts of
the skin to heal wounds and the liver can regenerate whole parts if they are lost
or damaged)
Planaria have neoblasts (they are the stem cells of Planaria) and these migrate to
certain areas of the worm that need repair
Stem cells were hard to study because the only way to get them was by
destroying human embryos (this brought up whether or not it was ethical)
But recently scientists discovered that they can generate stem cells by putting
blood cells into acid for 30 minutes and then the cells started to act like stem cells
(this made stem cells more readily available to scientists)

Hypothesis
Null Hypothesis:
If three different groups use three different cuts (cuts 1, 2,3) then there will be no
relationship between the three cuts because there stem cells throughout the whole
worm.

Our Hypothesis (for cut 3):

If we use cut three, cutting off the tail from the rest of the body, the tail will grow a new
head (with eye spots) slower than the body part will grow a new tail because stem cells
are more concentrated in the head portion of the Planarian.

Procedure
In this lab we began with two planarian worms, two petri dishes, and some
water.
The planarian was placed into the petri dish that was filled about halfway with
water.
To see how the worms would react to different cuts each group was assigned a
cut number, either cut 1, 2 or 3
Each group, according to their cut number, would make a cut with a plastic slide
cover while another plastic slide cover held down the worm
After the cut was made the petri dish was placed in a dark area (cabinet) to grow
Each day the petri dish was taken out of the cabinet and measured
We then proceeded to collect data (length) and make observations (behavior)
After collecting the data, each day, we recorded it in a data table and
replenished the water in the petri dish
This process was repeated for 14 days

Results (Data Table with

Observations)
This is a sharable link for our data table observations
(Cut 3)
https://docs.google.com/a/bvsd.org/document/d/18
3EvnMeEqN7iMLXgz8kNPTbEjKO0eVn_hUuvANalvCo/edit?
usp=sharing
And the data table for the entire class with the T-Tests,
Average and Standard Deviation are attached in a
separate doc.

Graph (Growth of Head vs. Tail over time)

Blue: Average Head

Growth
Red: Average Tail
Growth

Jakes Conclusion

Looking at the data, it does not support our hypothesis being that if we use cut three, cutting off the tail from the rest of the body, the tail
will grow a new head (with eye spots) slower than the body part will grow a new tail because stem cells are more concentrated in the head
portion of the Planarian. To prove this, the head region (growing a tail) at day five was 9mm and it remained that size for the next three days,
unlike the tail region (growing a head) at day five which was at 1mm and grew to 3mm over the same span of three days. The tail region
showed a regeneration of 2mm over three days unlike the head region which showed no signs of regeneration. This data did not make very
much sense because I expected the head region (growing a tail) to regenerate at a more rapid pace because there are not as much complex
systems when growing from the head down. I also thought it would be harder to regenerate a head with eyes as oppose to just regenerating a
tail. Therefore, our hypothesis was incorrect.
Although, there could be some sources of error. For example, the lack of food and nutrients that the planarian received, which could
have caused a slower rate of regeneration. Another source of error could of been in the measurements. When we measured the planarian, they
could have been either been expanded all the way or contracted causing a fluctuation in measurements in the data collection. Looking at the
lab I do not think it is necessary to change any parts of the lab it works well and makes sense how it is set up. This lab is very interesting
because it shows just how well stem cells can regenerate any part of the body. This data and analysis can be very useful to stem cell research
centers to help play a role in deeper research in the stem cell world.
There many applications for this kind of research and data. Some real life examples of stem cell usage range from fixing or
reprogramming parts of an organ that is not working correctly, to growing stem cells in a lab to replace a damaged organ or tissue entirely.
From personal experience, my hockey coach got a stem cell injection into his shoulder (I dont know the specifics) and he showed great
regeneration to the lost tissue. It seems to be working phenomenal for him because he is now out coaching our practices again and even lifting
weights. Therefore, there are many possibilities for stem cells, with more research there are many things that we can accomplish through the
use of stem cells.

Estelles Conclusion
Our data did not correlate with our hypothesis unfortunately. We assumed that if we cut off the tail from the rest
of the body, the tail would grow a new head slower than the body that would grow a new tail. The data that
proved this was as follows: at day 5 the head region that was growing the tail was at 9 mm, it remained the
same stable size for three days, the tail region which was growing a head at dive five was at 1 mm and grew 2
mm over the same span of 3 days. The growth was much faster for the tail region growing the head, we figured
the process of regrowing the head would be more difficult than the head because of its eyes, but it was
opposite, proving our hypothesis incorrect.
There were many possible sources of error, for example the cuts could have affected the way that the
growth took place, and slowed the rate of regeneration. Also since the planaria were all kept in one test plate,
the measurements we were taken could have easily started to get mixed up as they started to regenerate to
points when it became hard to distinguish between them. I think for a high school class there possible sources
of error are so small that they dont pose that heavy of an affect on the lab, I wouldnt change the lab.
This research can be applied to many real life examples of stem cell research, for example in organ
research. Stem cell usage can reprogram parts of an organ that may not be working efficiently or might need
fixing. Stem cells are one of the most important parts of the human body. Stem cell research can be applied to
many real world applications.

Audreys Conclusion

https://docs.google.com/a/bvsd.org/document/d/1aZ83RbwlM_0qcAm6h3TF2FNWvnSb_lmaHeWrA
ZhtOyg/edit?usp=sharing

(a. How does data support or not support hypothesis; b. sources of error, things that were weird, changes to lab, further
research; c. applications)

Bibliography
Planaria. (n.d.). Retrieved February 22, 2016, from
http://www.biologycorner.com/worksheets/articles/planarian.html
Planarian Regeneration and Stem Cells | HHMI's BioInteractive. (n.d.). Retrieved February 22, 2016,
from http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/planarian-regeneration-and-stem-cells
A Little Acid Turns Mouse Blood Into Brain, Heart And Stem Cells. (n.d.). Retrieved February 22, 2016,
from http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2014/01/29/268171016/a-little-acid-turns-mouse-bloodinto-brain-heart-and-stem-cells