Establishment and characterization of a fin cell line from Indian walking catfish, Clarias batrachus (L.)

A new cell line, Indian Catfish Fin, derived from the fin tissue of Indian walking catfish, Clarias batrachus, was established and characterized. The cell line grew well in Leibovitz's L-15 medium supplemented with 15% foetal bovine serum (FBS) and has been subcultured more than 110 times since its initiation in 2007. The cells were able to grow at a range of temperature from 28 to 37 degrees C with optimal growth at 28 degrees C. The cell line predominantly consists of fibroblast-like cells. The growth rate of fin cells increased as the FBS concentration increased from 2% to 20% at 28 degrees C with optimum growth at a concentration of 15% or 20% and poor growth at a concentration of 5%. The cells were found to be susceptible to fish nodavirus and IPNV-ab and infection was confirmed by cytopathic effect and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. PCR amplification of mitochondrial 12S rRNA using primers specific to C. batrachus confirmed the catfish origin of the cell line. The cell line was characterized further by immunocytochemistry, transfection efficiency with pEGFP-N1 and cell cycle analysis by fluorescent-activated cell sorting.