Cell culture from fin explant of endangered golden mahseer, Tor putitora (Hamilton)

A simple and reproducible short-term fish cell culture technique has been d escribed for Tor putitora. A fin tissue was used to develop primary culture s without sacrificing the fish. It yielded successful culture on the fourth day employing L-15 medium supplemented with 20% foetal calf serum (FCS) an d 10% fish muscle extract (FME), at 28 degrees C. The technique provided co nsistent epithelial cell monolayer from the mother explants. On subculture, the cell morphology changed to fibroblast-like cells. The technique used o ffers an elegant way to develop primary cultures without sacrificing the fi sh, thus making it a far more practical way of obtaining cell cultures from endangered species. In addition, the influence of in vivo regeneration on in vitro cell growth of the same tissue was studied. Regenerated fin tissue showed early and rapid cell growth when compared to normal fin tissue, ind icating the presence of growth factors.