In Vitro Cellular & Developmental Biology - Animal - Invitation for submission: Special Issue "Current Advances in Invertebrate and Fish Cell Culture Systems"
Dear colleagues,
We are delighted to announce the special issue of "Current Advances in Invertebrate and Fish Cell Culture Systems" in In Vitro Cellular & Developmental Biology-Animal journal, guest-edited by Vivian Dayeh (University of Waterloo) and Cynthia Goodman (CryoCrate, LLC), and Shirley Pomponi (Florida Atlantic University).
This special issue covers a wide range of original articles and review papers related to current advances in cell/tissue culture technologies and their applications in fish and invertebrate cell culture systems involving both fundamental research topics (e.g., physiology, nutrition, culture characterization and development, medium optimization, pathogen-host interactions), as well as applied topics (e.g., drug/pesticide development, ecotoxicology tools, and cell culture-based food products). We also encourage submission of manuscripts that address the development of in vitro models that mimic in vivo systems and how these models can be implemented in use-inspired research areas. The submission deadline is July 31, 2024.
We look forward to your contribution in this special issue.
Please submit your manuscript online (this opens in a new tab).
16th International Conference on Invertebrate and Fish Cell Culture (2024 SIVB World Congress)
Cell lines and primary tissue cultures from fish and invertebrates have served as valuable tools over the decades in biomedical, agricultural and/or environmental research programs (Goodman et al. 2021, Goswami et al. 2022, Rinkevich 2011, Smagghe et al. 2009, Urban-Gedamke et al. 2021). The first continuously replicating insect cell lines were established independently in 1957 and 1962 (Gaw 1958, Grace 1962). Similarly, cell lines from fish were initially established in 1962 (Wolf & Quimby 1962). Since then, hundreds of cell lines have been generated from a variety of tissues from diverse insect and fish species. Recently, the first cell line was established from a marine invertebrate (Conkling et al. 2019, Hesp et al. 2023). Primary cell and tissue cultures from organisms within these taxonomic categories have also been heavily utilized for short-term experiments. Nevertheless, many of the discoveries made in invertebrate/fish culture systems have been overshadowed by accomplishments in research involving human-derived culture systems. In the current research environment, new technologies are constantly evolving and being optimized for human cell cultures, tissues and organoids, or human-model (e.g., mouse, rat, Drosophila) systems, leaving those studying non-model organisms to develop new technologies or adapt methodologies specific for mammalian cell/tissue culture. Therefore, every 4 years, invertebrate and fish cell culturists have been meeting to exchange ideas, network, and learn from each other’s successes and challenges.
For the 16th International Conference on Invertebrate and Fish Cell Culture at the 2024 World Congress of In Vitro Biology, we will focus on current advances in molecular and cell/tissue culture technologies and their applications in fish and invertebrate cell culture systems. Technologies presented and discussed will include single cell sequencing, other genomic/proteomic-based techniques, and medium optimization tools. One area we will highlight is the development of in vitro models that mimic in vivo systems and how these models can be implemented in use-inspired research areas. Key elements of this research goal are the generation of tissue- and species-specific cell culture media and scaffolding systems that mimic the in vivo environment. We propose to have two sessions, one entitled “Foundational Concepts Underlying Successful Cell/Tissue Culture Strategies” and the other entitled “Current and Future Applications of Invertebrate and Fish Cell Culture Systems”.
After these sessions, we plan to hold a joint panel discussion with speakers and participants from the Plant Tissue Culture Medium Practices workshop. This will offer the speakers and meeting attendees the opportunity to discuss key topics from both the plant and invertebrate/fish sessions, which will include comparing strategies used for cell/tissue culture development and medium optimization. Additionally, we will invite researchers noted for their expertise in the development of human cell lines to participate on this joint panel to broaden the focus and allow researchers, independent of the taxa of their cultures, to learn from each other.
Given the success of our quadrennial invertebrate/fish cell culture meetings, we propose to continue offering similar sessions at the 2025 annual meeting of the Society for In Vitro Biology using the 2024 World Congress as a template for future meetings. Specifically, the 2024 joint panel discussion will serve as a primer for 2025 sessions focused on media development and the identification of the nutritional/hormonal needs of cell and/or tissue culture systems, regardless of kingdom. One session will focus on the needs of animal cell cultures (both invertebrates and vertebrates). The second session will bring experts together from plant and animal cell culture arenas to discuss similarities and differences in the strategies used for media development.
Participants in the 16th International Conference on Invertebrate and Fish Cell Culture at the 2024 World Congress of In Vitro Biology will include graduate students, post-doctoral associates and early to late career researchers. These sessions will not only provide the foundational knowledge of invertebrate and fish cell culture systems but will also highlight new advances in the broader field of in vitro technologies and how invertebrate/fish cell cultures contribute to the development of a bio-based circular economy. Recordings from the sessions will be released via the SIVB YouTube channel after the in-person meeting and will be part of the Society’s initiative to create an open access resource library available to interested groups for applied research and educational purposes in classroom teaching or laboratory sessions. The outcome of this educational material will be multi-fold: it will support the development of the next generation of cell and tissue culture scientists, and it will bridge the current gap in knowledge in the field. Moreover, the expertise and knowledge generated in fish and invertebrate cell and tissue culture over the past 65 years will form the basis for transformational discoveries in biomedical, environmental, and agricultural technologies by an educated and inspired workforce of new researchers.