Project:

The effects of Acetaldehyde of the gut microbiome of Dugesia Tigrina

Students:

Alexa Yacono, Gabriella Michailidis

School:

Sayville High School, Suffolk

Mentors:

Anthony DeAngelis

Abstract:

Inhalant vape products are often discarded into the environment and can lead to certain chemical pollutants entering local water sources on Long Island, negatively affecting living organisms. A key example presented throughout our research is about an organism called planaria, which is one of the many that are affected in a negative way chemicals from these inhalant devices. Planarians are a type of flatworm that have been used as model organisms in multiple fields of research. For example, planaria experiments are commonly based on their behavior, regenerative abilities, evolutionary biology, aging processes, and also morphogenetic engineering. They can regenerate their entire bodies in just two weeks. Since a Planarian’s ordinary habitat is freshwater, they suit the experiment presented exceptionally well. This research could be used to better understand how one specific chemical, acetaldehyde, can affect the bacterial diversity of the gut microbiome of planaria. Furthermore, it sh