Abstract：
The phylum Placozoa remains one of the least explored among early-branching metazoan lineages. For over 130 years, this phylum had been represented by the single species Trichoplax adhaerens-an animal with the simplest known body plan (three cell layers without any organs) but complex behaviors. Recently, extensive sampling of placozoans across the globe and their subsequent genetic analysis have revealed incredible biodiversity with numerous cryptic species worldwide. However, only a few culture protocols are available to date, and all are for one species only. Here, we describe the breeding of four different species representing two placozoan genera: Trichoplax adhaerens, Trichoplax sp. H2, Hoilungia sp. H4, and Hoilungia hongkongensis originating from diverse biotopes. Our protocols allow to culture all species under comparable conditions. Next, we outlined various food sources and optimized strain-specific parameters enabling long-term culturing. These protocols can facilitate comparative analyses of placozoan biology and behaviors, which together will contribute to deciphering general principles of animal organization.
摘要：
在早期分支后生动物谱系中，胎盘动物门仍然是探索最少的物种之一。130多年来,该门以单一物种Trichoplaxadhaerens为代表，该动物具有最简单的已知身体计划（没有任何器官的三个细胞层），但行为复杂。最近,在全球范围内对placozoans进行广泛的采样及其随后的遗传分析揭示了全球范围内具有众多隐秘物种的令人难以置信的生物多样性。然而,迄今为止只有少数文化协议可用，所有这些都只属于一个物种。这里,我们描述了代表两个placozoan属的四个不同物种的繁殖：Trichoplaxadhaerens，Trichoplaxsp.H2,Hoilungiasp.H4，和Hoilungiahongkongensis起源于不同的生物群落。我们的协议允许在可比条件下培养所有物种。接下来,我们概述了各种食物来源和优化的菌株特异性参数，从而可以进行长期培养。这些协议可以促进胎盘生物和行为的比较分析，它们一起将有助于破译动物组织的一般原则。
