These Solar-Powered Carnivorous Flatworms Divide and Conquer | Deep Look

Tiny marine flatworms called acoels hunt for prey in coral reefs. They're referred to as “plant-animals'' because they've got a partnership with photosynthetic algae that live inside of them. But this acoel's real superpower is its ability to regenerate any part of its body!

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DEEP LOOK is an ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED in San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small.

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Researchers are studying a species of tiny marine flatworm called an acoel that has some surprisingly amazing abilities, despite being smaller than a grain of rice.

“They have two very obvious superpowers,” says Dania Nanes Sarfati, a researcher at Stanford University who studies acoels.

“They are able to regenerate any part of their body. And they also have a very intimate relationship with algae that they keep inside their bodies that they exchange energy and other nutrients with. When you look at them, they just look like a little worm, but if you look inside you can see there's this green photosynthetic algae that are living between the acoel cells.”

In addition to catching prey to eat, acoels will flatten themselves out in sunny spots so that their photosynthetic internal algae can absorb sunshine.

“It’s like they’re on vacation every day,” says Nanes Sarfati.

--- What are acoels?
Acoels are a group of small, simple, soft-bodied flatworms that mostly live in marine environments. Acoels lack a permanent but they do have a mouth that they use to eat prey.

--- What do acoels eat?
Acoels eat tiny prey like planktonic plants and animals that float in the water. An acoel will expand its head like a net to engulf its prey and then jam its meal into its mouth.

--- How do you pronounce acoel?
Acoel is pronounced “a seal.”

---+ Find additional resources and a transcript on KQED Science:

https://www.kqed.org/science/1991736/...

---+ For more information:

Acoels by Sarah J. Bourlat and Andreas Hejnol
https://www.cell.com/current-biology/...

Sikes Lab at University of San Francisco
https://sikesj61.wixsite.com/sikeslab

Dania Nanes Sarfati
https://biox.stanford.edu/people/dani...

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