Characterization of cell lines derived from the southern armyworm, Spodoptera eridania

Authors: ZHANG, HONGWEI - University Of Missouri; LI, YAOFA - Hebei Academy Of Agriculture & Forestry; Reall, Tamra; XU, YIYUN - University Of Missouri; Goodman, Cynthia; Saathoff, Stephen - Steve; Ringbauer, Joseph - Joe; Stanley, David

Submitted to: In Vitro Cellular and Developmental Biology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/27/2018
Publication Date: 10/23/2018
Citation: Zhang, H., Li, Y., Reall, T., Xu, Y., Goodman, C.L., Saathoff, S.G., Ringbauer Jr, J.A., Stanley, D.W. 2018. Characterization of cell lines derived from the southern armyworm, Spodoptera eridania. In Vitro Cellular and Developmental Biology. 54:749-755. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11626-018-0300-4.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11626-018-0300-4

Interpretive Summary: Insect cell lines are important tools in biomedical and agricultural industries, used to produce proteins than cannot otherwise be made and in research to identify new insecticidal chemistries and to address biological questions about insects. Many cell lines have been established from moth and fly species and these are contemporary research tools. Very few cell lines have been established from specific tissues. This is a serious problem because cell line derived from specific tissues can have some of the properties recorded in intact insects, which enhances the value of insect cell lines. Here, we report on establishing seven cell lines from the southern armyworm, a serious pest of vegetable and fruit crops. To address this problem, we established seven continuously replicating cell lines from the the southern armyworm. These cell lines are available to researchers globally upon request, where the will benefit scientists working to devise novel approaches to controlling southern armyworms. Ultimately, this new research tool will benefit all consumers of vegetable and fruit crops in the Western hemisphere.

Technical Abstract: Spodoptera eridania (southern armyworm) is a polyphagous pest of many plants, including field crops, vegetables, fruits and ornamentals. Larvae are leaf feeders, defoliating many crops in the tropics and subtropics of the western hemisphere. In this study, cell lines from S. eridania were established to support the research of developing advanced pest management technologies. We generated seven cell lines from larval tissues, two from nervous tissues, two from testes and three from fat bodies. These cell lines have been passaged 18-57 times, indicating they are established lines. They are maintained in EX-CELL 420 or a combination of L15 + EX-CELL 420 media. The identities of the cell lines were confirmed by DAF-PCR and their doubling times ranged from 42-110 h. Flow cytometry indicated the presence of no more than two cell populations in each cell line. We identified a catalase gene in all seven cell lines. H2O2 treatment suppressed the expression of catalase and led a reduction in catalase activity. This is the first report of cell lines established from S. eridania, and these cell lines are now available to researchers world-wide on request.