Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Cell Lines

Cell Lines

A cell line is a population of cells grown in vitro that can be subcultured over several generations. Normal cells cease to divide after a certain number of cell divisions, a process known as replicative senescence. This number, called the Hayflick limit, was conceptualized by Leonard Hayflick in 1961 when he observed that fetal cells grown in culture could only divide 40-60 times. This limit is due to the shortening of the telomeres during each round of cell division, preventing cell division...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Population-scale Y chromosome assemblies reveal recurrent remodeling within constrained architectures.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026

Same author

SAM68 is a multifunctional post-transcriptional regulator of cardiomyocyte differentiation.

Nucleic acids research·2026

Same author

A complete human pancreatic cancer genome.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026

Same author

Haplotype-resolved genome assemblies of BJ and IMR-90 human fibroblast cell lines reveal extensive structural variation and enable reanalysis of historical sequencing data.

Nucleic acids research·2026

Same author

The diploid reference genome of a human embryonic stem cell line.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026

Same author

Adaptive Tracepoints for Pangenome Alignment Compression.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026

Same journal

Demonstration of a quantum C-NOT gate in a time-multiplexed fully reconfigurable photonic processor.

Nature communications·2026

Same journal

Nonlinear quantum light source with van der Waals ferroelectric NbOX<sub>2</sub> (X = Br, I).

Nature communications·2026

Same journal

Antagonistic histone H2A variants and autonomous heterochromatin formation shape epigenomic patterns in Arabidopsis.

Nature communications·2026

Same journal

The long tail of nitrate pollution in groundwater challenges governance of global water quality.

Nature communications·2026

Same journal

Select microbial metabolites promote tau aggregation in a murine tauopathy model.

Nature communications·2026

Same journal

Warming climate has lengthened global intense tropical cyclone seasons.

Nature communications·2026

See all related articles

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jan 10, 2026

Author Spotlight: Finding New Therapeutic Targets for Malignant Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumor Through Genome-Scale shRNA Screens

Author Spotlight: Finding New Therapeutic Targets for Malignant Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumor Through Genome-Scale shRNA Screens

Published on: August 25, 2023

Cell line-matched reference enables high-precision functional genomics.

Luca Corda¹, Emilia Volpe¹, Hamza Dallali¹

¹Giunta Laboratory of Genome Evolution, Department of Biology and Biotechnologies Charles Darwin, University of Rome "Sapienza", Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, Rome, 00185, Italy.

Nature Communications

|November 20, 2025

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Using a matched reference genome specific to a cell line, like RPE-1, greatly improves the accuracy of genomic, epigenomic, and transcriptomic analyses and genome editing, especially at centromeres.

More Related Videos

Integration of Wet and Dry Bench Processes Optimizes Targeted Next-generation Sequencing of Low-quality and Low-quantity Tumor Biopsies

Integration of Wet and Dry Bench Processes Optimizes Targeted Next-generation Sequencing of Low-quality and Low-quantity Tumor Biopsies

Published on: April 11, 2016

HOX Loci Focused CRISPR/sgRNA Library Screening Identifying Critical CTCF Boundaries

HOX Loci Focused CRISPR/sgRNA Library Screening Identifying Critical CTCF Boundaries

Published on: March 31, 2019

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jan 10, 2026

Author Spotlight: Finding New Therapeutic Targets for Malignant Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumor Through Genome-Scale shRNA Screens

Author Spotlight: Finding New Therapeutic Targets for Malignant Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumor Through Genome-Scale shRNA Screens

Published on: August 25, 2023

Integration of Wet and Dry Bench Processes Optimizes Targeted Next-generation Sequencing of Low-quality and Low-quantity Tumor Biopsies

Integration of Wet and Dry Bench Processes Optimizes Targeted Next-generation Sequencing of Low-quality and Low-quantity Tumor Biopsies

Published on: April 11, 2016

HOX Loci Focused CRISPR/sgRNA Library Screening Identifying Critical CTCF Boundaries

HOX Loci Focused CRISPR/sgRNA Library Screening Identifying Critical CTCF Boundaries

Published on: March 31, 2019

Area of Science:

Genomics
Cell Biology
Epigenetics

Background:

Human genome assemblies reveal extensive variation, particularly at centromeres.
Using a single, generic reference genome can limit the accuracy of whole-genome analyses and genomic manipulation of cell line data.

Purpose of the Study:

To demonstrate that an "isogenomic" diploid reference genome, specific to an experimental cell line, enhances the accuracy of various genomic analyses and genome editing.
To establish matched-reference genomics as a framework for high-precision cell biology.

Main Methods:

Generated a reference genome for the RPE-1 human cell line (RPE1v1.1).
Performed comparative analyses of DNA-seq, RNA-seq, and CUT&RUN data using matched versus non-matched references.
Evaluated genome engineering efficiency using centromeric CRISPR guide RNAs.

Main Results:

A matched RPE-1 reference genome significantly improves mapping quality for DNA- and RNA-seq reads, both genome-wide and at divergent loci.
Haplotype-specific genetic and epigenetic divergence was uncovered across all centromeres.
Matched reference improved centromeric CRISPR guide RNA efficiency and chromosome specificity.
Defined the human kinetochore site and identified variations in its position, size, and organization between haplotypes and chromosomes.

Conclusions:

Matched-reference genomics provides a powerful framework for high-precision cell biology.
Systematic assembly of experimentally relevant cell line genomes is recommended.