Welcome to the Macrostomum Research Net!
Introduction
Macrostomum lignano is a small, transparent, non-parasitic marine flatworm feeding on the diatom Nitzschia curvilineata in laboratory cultures. Since its discovery in the Adriatic Sea in 1995 by a research group from the University of Innsbruck, led by Prof. Reinhard Rieger, cultures of Macrostomum lignano were continuously maintained in the lab. As a new model organism for developmental and stem cell biology, it is easy to keep, easy to colour and easy to cut.
Adult animals measure about 1-1.5 mm in length and about 150 µm in width, with a total cell number of about 25,000 cells. The simultaneous hermaphrodites lay approximately one egg per day if well-fed. At 20 °C, the initially spiral-cleaving embryos develop for about five days until hatching. Postembryonic development to sexually mature adults takes about two weeks. Freshly hatched juveniles are just 200 µm long and possess ca. 3,000 cells. Staining of neoblasts (likely totipotent stem cells) is possible by soaking the whole animals in solutions containing thymidine analogs, e.g. BrdU.
Labs
The following research labs are currently known to work with Macrostomum lignano or other Macrostomum species:
Innsbruck, Austria
Bernhard Egger and his lab members are working on regeneration and the nervous system of Macrostomum lignano and other free-living flatworms, e.g. acoels and polyclads.
Bert Hobmayer and his lab members are working on neurogenesis, Wnt and SFRP of Macrostomum lignano.
Peter Ladurner and his lab members are working on stem cells and germ line formation of Macrostomum lignano.
Daniela Pfister is working on the function of flatworm stem cells by RNA interference and on germ line formation of Macrostomum lignano.
Ghent, Belgium
Maxime Willems is working on the embryonic development of Macrostomum lignano.
Hasselt, Belgium
Tom Artois and his lab members are working on ecotoxicology of Macrostomum lignano.
Los Angeles, California
Volker Hartenstein and his lab members are working on the nervous system and neurogenesis of Macrostomum lignano and other flatworms, such as acoels.
Tübingen, Germany
Nico Michiels and his lab members are working on sex allocation of Macrostomum lignano.
Basel, Switzerland
Lukas Schärer and his lab members are working on sex allocation of Macrostomum lignano.
Recent publications on Macrostomum lignano
2008
The stem cell system of the basal flatworm Macrostomum lignano
Flatworm stem cells and the germ line: Developmental and evolutionary implications of macvasa expression in Macrostomum lignano
2007
Thraustochytrids as novel parasitic protists of marine free-living flatworms: Thraustochytrium caudivorum sp. nov. parasitizes Macrostomum lignano
On the love of detail and the search for grand connections: a tribute to Reinhard Rieger, 10th May 1943 to 11th October 2006
Neurobiology of the basal platyhelminth Macrostomum lignano: map and digital 3D model of the juvenile brain neuropile
Tracking sperm of a donor in a recipient: an immunocytochemical approach
Resource-dependent sex-allocation in a simultaneous hermaphrodite
Regeneration in Macrostomum lignano (Platyhelminthes): cellular dynamics in the neoblast stem cell system
The exceptional stem cell system of Macrostomum lignano: Screening for gene expression and studying cell proliferation by hydroxyurea treatment and irradiation
Free-living flatworms under the knife: past and present
Phenotypically flexible sex allocation in a simultaneous hermaphrodite
About
This site is maintained by Bernhard Egger (University of Innsbruck, Austria) and aims at giving some useful pointers to research on the free-living flatworm Macrostomum lignano and other Macrostomum species. Drop me a note if you're working on Macrostomum and would like to have your site or paper included here.
