Abstract
Summary
Cell lines were established from several species of turtles and lizards, but not from snakes, crocodilians, or amphisbaenids. Growth was obtained in mammalian cell medium at incubation temperatures from 23 to 36°, but cell lines were most often successfully established at 30°. Cell morphology was variable, including fibroblastic, epithelioid, and some aberrant types. Karyoptic analysis of several cell lines derived from Iguana iguana revealed in each case a diploid karyotype at early passage levels followed by acquisition of an added marker chromosome in later (25th to 73rd) passages. On the basis of this and previously published data it was concluded that reptilian cell lines typically emerge by early (5th to 10th passage) selection of one morphological cell type followed by a later (10th to 40th passage) appearance of usually minor chromosomal changes. Reptilian cell lines supported the replication with cytopathic effect of homeothermic vertebrate viruses of the poxvirus, herpesvirus, myxovirus, rhabdovirus, and arbovirus groups at an incubation temperature of 36°. Reptile cells in vitro apparently support a wider spectrum of mammalian and avian viruses than do fish or amphibian cells.
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