How to get physiologically relevant data with students using Lumbriculus variegatus

The decline of in vivo teaching in higher education has resulted in graduates lacking essential experimental skills. To address this gap, we present an easy and cost-effective practical class using the emerging invertebrate model organism Lumbriculus variegatus as an additional in vivo model for education. This practical class enables students to observe the effects of pharmacologically active compounds on the stereotypical behaviors of body reversal and helical swimming in L. variegatus through tactile stimulation. During this class, students will conduct drug dilution calculations, administer test compounds, and conduct an in vivo behavioral experiment. Results from this class demonstrate drug effects in vivo and enable students to observe reversible or irreversible behavioral effects, depending on the compound tested. This class demonstrates L. variegatus as a model for hands-on in vivo teaching, providing students with critical laboratory experience without the need for vertebrate or higher-order mammal models. Furthermore, the approach outlined here is scalable and an adaptable teaching methodology that enhances student engagement with in vivo teaching without costly equipment or complex animal husbandry.NEW & NOTEWORTHY There are increasing societal expectations that the extent of experimentation using animals is reduced in both research and educational fields. This leaves educators and researchers with a problem: how to foster the development of skills and advances in knowledge in future generations? This article seeks to address this problem by providing clear examples of an experimental model that can be used to study fundamental physiological and pharmacological processes using the invertebrate organism Lumbriculus variegatus.