A bacterial food source for effective laboratory cultivation of the freshwater nematode Plectus sambesii

The successful establishment of a new satellite animal model system depends in no small part on the ability to effectively cultivate such animals at scale in the laboratory. We describe here the discovery of a bacterial food source, Pseudomonas putida AAC02 , that improves laboratory cultivation of the parthenogenetic freshwater nematode Plectus sambesii, characterized by an embryonic patterning program, morphological features and environmental adaptations notably distinct from other presently well-established nematode model systems. We also describe the application of a freezing protocol for long-term storage of Plectus sambesii and several other emerging model species.