Development and characterization of new cell line BPH22 from midgut epithelial cells of Poekilocerus pictus (Fabricius, 1775).

Poekilocerus pictus is a painted grasshopper, which feeds on Calotropis sp. containing the cardiac glycosides. A new cell line BPH22 is developed from midgut of P. pictus to study its unique physiology and biochemistry. Initially, the Graces insect medium is used with 10% (v/v) fetal bovine serum. After four passages, the serum quantity was reduced up to 0%.The lag phase in growth curve was 5 d and log phase is up to 10-11 d. The addition of Calotropis extract in Graces medium enhanced the growth of cells. The Calotropis extract with Graces medium altered the morphology of cells of BPH22. The amplification and sequencing of 16S rRNA gene confirmed the origin and purity of the BPH22.