Scientists can then take these findings and translate them into other organisms, like mice, to eventually apply to humans.
P. pacificus has a slender tube-like body with a tapered head and tail. An adult P. pacificus worm is approximately 1 millimeter long. As a result, I use a microscope every day to work with this organism. Furthermore, its skin is transparent, which allows us to tag cells and molecules of interest with fluorescent particles. Then, we can visualize physiological processes in real time! P. pacificus is especially unique because it can develop a different mouth form depending on its surrounding environment, such as temperature and nutrient availability. This adaptability to the environment is called “plasticity” in the biology field. P. pacificus has two mouth forms: eurystomatous (Eu) and stenostomatous (St). The Eu mouth form is the predatory mouth form, which is characteristically wide with two teeth. It uses these teeth to prey on other worms in its environment. The St mouth form is the bacteria-feeding mouth form, which is characteristically narrow with one tooth.
When I first saw P. pacificus under a microscope, I was amazed at how intricate such a small animal could be. I was especially mesmerized by its translucent skin, allowing me to see everything inside its body like its intestine and eggs. It’s also amazing to think about how these worms live all around us in nature yet they are so small that many of us are unaware of their presence. I will never tire of looking at a fluorescent strain of worms under a microscope.
