MARGO MCCULLOUGH

SCIENCE 6
APRIL 7, 2014
PLANARIA LAB REPORT

PROBLEM: If trisected, which piece of a planarian will regenerate first?


HYPOTHESIS: If trisected, then the posterior will regenerate first.

THEORY:

Planarians are flatworms, which reproduce sexually. Sexual reproduction is
the process when there is a production of new living organisms. It occurs when
genetic information from two individuals from different sexes is combined. The
system of reproduction is the collection of organs that work together to create a
new life whereas planarian reproduces in a different way. Planarians are
hermaphrodites and the way they sexually reproduce is by coming together with
another planarian and exchanging sperm. The planarians eggs are fertilized and
eventually are laid. Through time the planarians eggs hatch and cause there to be a
new planarian.

When conditions are less then ideal, planarian have the ability to produce
asexually. Asexual reproduction occurs by traverse fission. The end of the animal
(posterior) will stick to the substratum while the end (anterior) moves forward
until the body of the planarian pulls apart at a certain area behind the pharynx. Each
of the two halves regenerates the part that was missing to form two whole new
planarians. Planarians are hermaphroditic, which forms both the male and females
reproduction organs in each of the individuals. This process is called tail dropping.

Planarians are able to reproduce asexually through the process of
regeneration. Regeneration is when the planarian is injured it forms into three
parts; the posterior, mid section, and anterior. The neoblasts in the planarian
migrate to the end of the wound (blastema.) Then the neoblasts divide and
differentiate. All the neoblasts cramp into the bottom of the wound, but when the
planarian is whole the neoblasts are more spread out. There are 30% of neoblasts in
planarian. They are stem cells, which are totipotent and can be any cell type. Each of
the neoblasts specializes. Regeneration is one form of asexual reproduction in
planarians. If trisected, then the anterior will generate first. I hypothesized this
because the anterior would only have to grow the mid section and posterior and the
anterior part of the planarian would already have eyes and the head features.





DATA:



CONCLUSION:

In this lab we trisected a planarian to examine which of the three parts of the
body regenerated first. I hypothesized that the anterior would regenerate first.
My data shows by day 8 that the posterior section of the planarian regenerated first.
On the last day the planarians posterior section was moving very fast, regenerated
at a rapid speed and grew a lot of tissue. On day 6 of 8 was when my group first
discovered when it grew the most. The planarians posterior section was very
pigmented and on the last day, the posterior was almost fully-grown. For my classes
data (period 7) 50% of our classes planarians anterior section regenerated first. For
all of 7
th
grade 37% of the planarians anterior section regenerated the fastest. The
percentages are slightly similar for out of the grades 78 pieces and 7
th
periods 14
pieces. For period 7, 43% of the mid section was said to be the fastest regenerated.
49% of 7
th
grades mid section regenerated first. The percentages are very similar for
the anterior and mid section for 7
th
grade and 7
th
period, but there are different
amounts of pieces in all. For 7
th
grade only 14% of the posterior was said to
regenerate fastest, but for 7
th
period it was only 7%. In conclusion, planarian will
regenerate when trisected and the posterior will regenerate the most and fastest.







50
43
7
37
49
14
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Anterior Mid Section Posterior
F
i
r
s
t

r
e
g
e
n
e
r
a
t
e
d

%

2014 Regeneration Data
7th Period
7th Grade
ANALYSIS:

Out of the whole 7
th
period class, our anterior section of the planarian
regenerated first. Our group looked very closely at our planarian and know our
results were valid however, all of the 7
th
period class either said the anterior or the
mid section regenerated first. According to this reasoning our results could be
incorrect although, we checked many times, took time and knew the posterior
section regenerated first. It was difficult to tell the posterior and mid section apart
because they both do not have oscelli. Both the mid section and posterior parts look
the same, so it could have been the mid section that regenerated first. If I were to fix
this problem I would separate them in separate petri dishes. It was difficult to
control the planarians movement because when it moved to fast it was hard to look
at it correctly in the microscope. If I could make any changes, I would look at the
planarian harder and longer in the microscope and pay more attention to how much
it grew. The posterior section was moving at a very fast speed and had a lot of new
tissue. It started regenerating fast on day 6 and we knew it would keep growing and
regenerating. If our observations were inaccurate we think it is because the
confusing between the mid section and the posterior section. They both were about
the same but the posterior to us was bigger, regenerated faster, and moved at a
rapid speed.

Neoblasts and human stem cells are different and similar in there own way. A
stem cell is undifferentiated. Its role in the body is not yet determined and can gives
rise to multiple cells, including more stem cells. Neoblasts are stem cells. They are
totipotent and can be any cell type. The neoblasts migrate to the end of the 3
sections of the stem cells, but the human stem cells migrate deep into the wound
fixing it. Human stem cells are sometimes totipotent. The neoblasts are very spread
out when it is normally in the planarian and human stem cells are in certain parts of
the body. The neoblasts and human stem cells are also very similar. A neoblasts is
basically a type of stem cell in the body. The neoblasts miagrate to a wound and do
its best to heal that wound. Like neoblasts, human stem cells function the same way.
If a person gets a cut the stem cells will go in and pile up with the new type of skin
cell, which can amazingly heal the wound and have the scab remaining to go away.
Neoblasts go to the blastema and fix a wound. In planaria, if the planarian is cut into
3 sections the neoblasts will go to the edge and heal the wound. The neoblasts
specialize into different types. Neoblasts and human stem cells are very different,
but also are very similar.

There is a lot of controversy about stem cell research. These therapies
started when scientists learned how to remove stem cells from human embryos. The
good part about this therapy is that they have potential to cure human diseases, but
all good things have some occasional flaws. The process can cause the human
embryo to be destroyed. The only way to get pluripotent stem cells eligible to use
for research would be to remove the inner cell mass of an embryo and put it in a
dish. Thinking of the possibility of destroying a human embryo is a very uneasy
thought. There is much less controversy now than there ever was. Embryos are very
much still needed for research, but they have a better grasp on the process. There
are many people who are causing this controversy such as religious leaders,
politicians, and the public. The research level has increased and they are finding
many more ways to do this process without the human embryo being destroyed.
Many believe that the stem cell research should be continued. President Obama
signed an executive order on stem cells. Also he widened the number of stem cell
lines available for researchers. Stem cell research has become much more ideal.







































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