A continuous cell line from the cultured marine fish gilt-head seabream ( Sparus aurata L.)

Abstract

Conspecific cell lines provide an efficient experimental system with many applications for improving the productivity of commercial fish species. A continuous cell line SAF-1 has been developed from fin tissues of an adult gilt-head seabream ( Sparus aurata) without immortalising treatments. The cells grow in DME-F12 basal medium supplemented with 5% foetal bovine serum at the optimal temperature of 25 °C and have been sub-cultured approximately 70 times over a 1.5 year period. They show a fibroblast-like morphology, high efficiency of plating, doubling time of 2 days and high survival after being frozen. Karyotype and DNA content of the cell line reveal a mostly euploid and rather stable cell population, which is of great interest for cytogenetic studies. This cell line has been shown to be susceptible to several fish viruses and to bacterial extracellular products.