Progress in the development of shrimp cell cultures in Thailand.

Primary shrimp cell cultures were developed from lymphoid organ and ovaries of black tiger shrimp, Penaeus monodon, in double-strength Leibovitz's L-15 medium supplemented with 15% fetal bovine serum, 1% glucose, 5 g/L NaCl, 15% shrimp meat extract. The optimum conditions for primary culture in vitro were obtained in L-15 medium with an osmolality of approximately 730 +/- 10 mmol/kg, a temperature range of 25--28 degrees C and incubation in a normal atmosphere. However, basal medium supplemented with 0.01% cholesterol could enhance good growth and cells performance initiated from lymphoid organ. Both epithelial-like and fibroblastic- like cells were observed from those organs within 2 days incubation. Within 3 days, 80% confluent monolayers were obtained from the lymphoid organ while cultures from other tissues required 5 days. Cultures were maintained for at least 43 days. Only cells from lymphoid organ could be subcultured and confluent monolayers achieved within 10 days post-spilt. Healthy cultures of the lymphoid cells did not persist beyond the third passage. Application of these primary shrimp cell cultures for studying pathogenic viruses of shrimp in vitro will be discussed.