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Insect cell culture and applications to research and pest management

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Abstract

Building on earlier research, insect cell culture began with the successful establishment of one cell line from pupal ovarian tissue. The field has grown to the extent that now over 500 insect cell lines have been established from many insect species representing numerous insect orders and from several different tissue sources. These cell lines are used as research tools in virology, in studies of signaling mechanisms to study insect immunity, hemocyte migration, and to test hypotheses about gene expression, and in screening programs designed to discover new insecticide chemistries. Virology research is revealing fundamentally new information on virus/host cell interactions. Studies in gene expression are uncovering signal transduction pathways that are new to insect science. Research is leading to the development of high-speed screening technologies that are essential in the search for new insect pest management tools. A few insect cell lines are, in routine industrial processes, designed to produce proteins of biomedical significance. Both primary cell cultures and established lines are used in basic biological studies to reveal how insect cells work. This review is designed to briefly cover the history of insect cell culture, recount some recent advances in the field, and offer a vision of the future of insect cell culture.

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Acknowledgments

We gratefully thank Dr. Arthur McIntosh (BCIRL) for his helpful information. Dr. Guy Smagghe acknowledges the support by Ghent University, the Flemish Institute for Promotion of Scientific Research in Industry (IWT), and the Fund for Scientific Research (FWO-Vlaanderen). Research in BCIRL was supported by the USDA/Agricultural Research Service. This article reports the results of research only and mention of a proprietary product does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation for its use by the USDA.

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  1. Laboratory of Agrozoology, Department of Crop Protection, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

    Guy Smagghe

  2. Biological Control of Insects Research Laboratory, USDA/ARS, Columbia, MO, 65203, USA

    Cynthia L. Goodman & David Stanley

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  1. Guy Smagghe
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  2. Cynthia L. Goodman
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  3. David Stanley
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Correspondence to Guy Smagghe.

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Editor: J. Denry Sato

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Smagghe, G., Goodman, C.L. & Stanley, D. Insect cell culture and applications to research and pest management. In Vitro Cell.Dev.Biol.-Animal 45, 93–105 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11626-009-9181-x

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