The establishment of a Colorado potato beetle (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) pupal cell line

Abstract

A cell line (BCIRL-Lepd-SL1) was established from pupal tissue of the Colorado potato beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). The cell line has been in culture for three years in EX-Cell 401™ medium supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum, during which time it has undergone over 100 subcultures. The cell population is heterogenous in nature, consisting of round cells, trapezoid-like cells and elongated cells. The cell population doubling times at 28°C were estimated to be 3.4 days at passage 56 and 2.3 days at passage 111. The cell line did not support replication of Autographa californica nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV) recombinants carrying the genes for green or blue fluorescent proteins. The cell line was confirmed to have originated from the Colorado potato beetle by the DAF-PCR technique.