Establishment and characterization of American elm cell suspension cultures

Cell suspension cultures of Dutch elm disease (DED)-tolerant and DED-susceptible American elms clones have been established and characterized as prerequisites for contrasts of cellular responses to pathogen-derived elicitors. Characteristics of cultured elm cell growth were monitored by A700 and media conductivity. Combined cell growth data for all experiments within a genotype showed relatively low variances and between-genotype contrasts during repeated passages showed no significant differences. Subculturing exponentially growing cells at 8-14 day intervals, within readily measured parameters of media conductivity (4.95-4.2 mmhos) and cell concentration (≥ 1.4 A700), consistently resulted in repeatable profiles of elm cell growth and minimized lag phase. Culture cells were essentially homogeneous after 5 subculture passages and their overall appearance was stable. We conclude that the described procedure resulted in consistent cultures suitable for elicitor treatment experiments.