ORGAN-CULTURE OF SALIVARY-GLANDS OF MALE ANASTREPHA-SUSPENSA (DIPTERA, TEPHRITIDAE)

Salivary glands from male Caribbean fruit flies, Anastrepha suspensa, were isolated individually by dissection and cultured in Schneider's m edium containing 10% Fetal Bovine Serum and antibiotics. A total of 10 3 salivary glands were successfully cultured. Two different procedures were used to evaluate viability. A trypan blue dye test revealed that no more than 10% of the cultured cells were non-viable, since they ac quired blue coloration. In the second set of experiments, acid phospha tase activity of the cultured glands was measured colorimetrically fro m absorbance at 415 nm of liberated p-nitrophenol. This method indicat ed that the cultured glands stayed metabolically active, with enzyme a ctivity equal to that of freshly excised glands on the fifth, eighth, and fifteenth days of the experiment. Scanning electron microscopy (SE M) showed no visual differences in tissue organization and size of ind ividual cells when freshly excised salivary glands and cultured glands were compared. SEM showed that the cells of cultured glands were neit her swollen nor shrunken, and close-up views showed no evidence of cel l deterioration or lysing.