A database of crop pest cell lines

Authors: ARYA, SURJEET - University Of Kentucky; Goodman, Cynthia; Stanley, David; PALLI, SUBBA - University Of Kentucky

Submitted to: In Vitro Cellular and Developmental Biology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/13/2022
Publication Date: 8/22/2022
Citation: Arya, S.K., Goodman, C.L., Stanley, D.W., Palli, S.R. 2022. A database of crop pest cell lines. In Vitro Cellular and Developmental Biology. 58(8):719-757. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11626-022-00710-w.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11626-022-00710-w

Interpretive Summary: In the years following the establishment of the first insect cell line in the 1950s, many cell lines have been established from insect species, including agricultural and medical pests and other species. There are now over 1200 insect cell lines. These cell lines are used in a wide range of scientific and industrial processes. For example, we use insect cell lines as research tools to investigate insect immunology. They are used in industry to discover new insecticides and in to produce proteins used in biomedicine. The problem is detailed information on the cell lines, such as which insect species and which specific tissue sources are represented with cell lines, and information on where and how to obtain insect cell lines, is lacking. We addressed this issue by creating a comprehensive on-line data base on 719 cell lines that were originated from agriculturally important insect pests. The data base provides necessary information for researchers to select cell lines appropriate to specific research goals and information on how to obtain the cell lines. This new database will be used by scientists at the international level to obtain and utilize inset cell lines to support a wide ranee of agricultural research. This new tool will help scientists accomplish meaningful research goals that will lead to abundant and safe foods for a growing human population.

Technical Abstract: We have developed an online database describing the known cell lines from Coleoptera, Diptera, Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, and Lepidoptera that were originated from agricultural pests. Cell line information has been primarily obtained from previous compilations of insect cell lines. We conducted in-depth internet literature searches and drew on internet sources such as the Cellosaurus database (https://web.expasy.org/cellosaurus/), and inventories from cell line depositories. Here, we report on a new database of insect cell lines, which covers 719 cell lines from 86 species. We have not included cell lines developed from Drosophila because they are already known from published databases, such as https://dgrc.bio.indiana.edu/cells/Catalog. We provide the designation, tissue and species of origin, cell line developer, unique characteristics, its use in various applications, publications, and patents, and, when known, insect virus susceptibility. This information has been assembled and organized into a searchable database available at this link, https://entomology.ca.uky.edu/aginsectcellsdatabase which will be updated on an ongoing basis.