New Cell Lines Derived from Laboratory Colony <i>Triatoma infestans</i> and <i>Rhodnius prolixus</i>, Vectors of <i>Trypanosoma cruzi</i>, Do Not Harbour Triatoma Virus
Rebekah Penrice-Randal,
Catherine Hartley,
Alexandra Beliavskaia,
Xiaofeng Dong,
Luke Brandner-Garrod,
Miranda Whitten,
Lesley Bell-Sakyi
Affiliations
Rebekah Penrice-Randal
Department of Infection Biology and Microbiomes, Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, 146 Brownlow Hill, Liverpool L3 5RF, UK
Catherine Hartley
Department of Infection Biology and Microbiomes, Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, 146 Brownlow Hill, Liverpool L3 5RF, UK
Alexandra Beliavskaia
Department of Infection Biology and Microbiomes, Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, 146 Brownlow Hill, Liverpool L3 5RF, UK
Xiaofeng Dong
Department of Infection Biology and Microbiomes, Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, 146 Brownlow Hill, Liverpool L3 5RF, UK
Luke Brandner-Garrod
Department of Infection Biology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, UK
Miranda Whitten
Swansea University Institute of Life Science, College of Medicine, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
Lesley Bell-Sakyi
Department of Infection Biology and Microbiomes, Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, 146 Brownlow Hill, Liverpool L3 5RF, UK
Triatomine bugs of the genera Triatoma and Rhodnius are vectors of Chagas disease, a neglected tropical disease of humans in South America caused by Trypanosoma cruzi. Triatoma virus (TrV), a natural pathogen of Triatoma infestans, has been proposed as a possible tool for the bio-control of triatomine bugs, but research into this virus has been hampered by a lack of suitable host cells for in vitro propagation. Here we report establishment and partial characterisation of continuous cell lines from embryos of T. infestans (TIE/LULS54) and Rhodnius prolixus (RPE/LULS53 and RPE/LULS57). RNAseq screening by a sequence-independent, single primer amplification approach confirmed the absence of TrV and other RNA viruses known to infect R. prolixus, indicating that these new cell lines could be used for propagation of TrV.
