Establishment and characterization of an ovarian cell line from Southern catfish (Silurus meridionalis)

An ovarian cell line was successfully developed from the juvenile ovary of Southern catfish (SCO1) (Silurus meridionalis), which was designated as SCO1. The cell line multiplied preferentially in L-15 medium with 15 % fetal bovine serum at 28 °C for more than 70 passages over a period of 420 days. SCO1 showed fibroblast-like morphology and predominantly retained a diploid karyotype of 58 chromosomes. From the gene expression patterns, SCO1 showed a characteristic of ovarian granulosa cells. After the cells were transfected with the green fluorescent protein expression vector, bright fluorescent signals could be observed in approximately 30 % cells. This cell line may be valuable for the evaluation of endocrine disruptors and studying interactions between somatic cells and germ cells.