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, <i>Pseudomonas putida</i> AAC02 <i>,</i> that improves laboratory cultivation of the parthenogenetic freshwater nematode <i>Plectus sambesii,</i> 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 <i>Plectus sambesii</i> and several other emerging model species.