Bacterium Found in Regenerating Flatworms

Schmidtea mediterranea is a newly discovered freshwater bacteria found in flatworms, which have the ability to regenerate amputated parts. Researchers seek to learn more about the relationship between the bacteria and organisms; the characteristics of the bacteria; and their regenerative traits. They intend to extract the bacteria and identify its characteristics using culturomics and taxonomy-genomics studies to understand the bacteria and its connection to health, disease, and treatment. The researchers hypothesized that the microbiota does have a role in the worm’s regenerative ability and is a distinct species within the pedobacter genus. New findings can further advance studies in regenerative medicine and therapeutic healing. Using culturomics and taxono-genomics approaches will provide insights about the interaction of the host and their microbacteria inhabitants can improve ecological and medicinal research studies.

Figure 1 outlines how closely related pedobacter schidteae is related to other bacteria in the phylogenetic tree after it was isolated from schmidtea mediterranea. The tree compares 16S rRNA gene sequences and found that P. schmidteae is about 98.29% related to P. nyackensis, but is unique from the other species. In this figure, the independent variable was the unique DNA sequence; the dependent variable are the traits of the P. schmidteae such as the color, shape, staining, and motility. The control variables are the DNA comparison and bioinformatic tools used. Data revealed that the growth of the P. schmidteaehad unique metabolic requirements that allowed them to thrive under certain conditions. Researchers concluded that P. schmidteae shares a 98.29% similarity in DNA with its closest relative, Pedobacter nyackensis, but couldn't be classified as the same species since scientists require over 99% similarity. The tree diagram showed that P. schmidteae has its own branch and has its own unique characteristics from the other Pedobacter species. This makes it a new discovery in the bacterial family tree.

Figure 2 compares the genome sequences across various bacterial species. The independent variable was the gram stain technique used to make observations across the bacterial species; dependent variables included the color, shape, and physical characteristics of the P. schmiteae; and the genome sequencing was the control variable. The figure shows that the strain was rod shaped and similar to other Pedobacter species, but had its own unique physical size and structure. The findings revealed that P. schmidteae shared about 95% of qualities with other bacteria species supporting the claim that it could be a new species within the Pedobactergenus.

Figure 3 shows a transmission electron microscopy of Pedobacter schmiteae strain EGT. This image shows the bacterium’s rod-shaped morphology and the absence of flagellum. The scale bar indicates a length of 500 nm. This visualization provides insights into the features of P. schmidteae, particularly its non-motile nature. The scale bar in the figure indicates that the bacterium is approximately 500 nanometers long, contributing to our understanding of the morphological (form of the worm) characteristics and the motility of the Pedobacter schmidteae.

The research on pedobacter schmidteae concluded that the new bacteria was a new species found with the P. nyackensis family tree. Using phylogenetic tree, gram staining, and genomic testing, researchers found that the bacteria is genetically similar, but phenotypically distinct from its relatives. These findings suggest that there might be other symbiotic microbiota that contribute to how organisms coexist within the ecosystem.

Kangale, L.J., Raoult, D., Ghigo, E., Fournier, P.E. (2020) Pedobacter schmidteae sp. nov., a new

bacterium isolated from the microbiota of the planarian Schmidtea mediterranea. Scientific Reports - Nature Research., 1-12. 10.1038/s41598-020-62985