Establishing Tissue Culture Cell Lines for Reptiles and Amphibians

Cell lines are an essential component of laboratory biomedical research and disease investigations. Cell lines also help reduce the use of animals in biomedical research, and serve as a repository of genetic information for conservation biology. However, few tissue culture cell lines exist for reptiles and amphibians, making it difficult for scientists to respond to disease outbreaks, such as the deadly chytrid fungus causing worldwide decline and extinction of amphibians. To fill this knowledge gap, researchers will establish tissue culture cell lines for reptiles and amphibians that will be readily available to the scientific community for wildlife disease investigations and conservation projects.