Introduction
In invertebrate tissue culture, the culture of insect tissues has advanced
to the greatest extent. However, initial attempts to culture invertebrate
cells were made with marine invertebrates. Harrison (1903), known as
the founder of vertebrate tissue culture because of his famous experiment on the in vitro development of nerve fibers, had already tried to
culture Limulus (Crustacea) nerve fibers in vitro before his work on the
in vitro culture of neuroblasts of amphibians (Harrison, 1907). Wilson
(1907) also reported on the maintenance of dissociated sponge cells in
vitro, and Morse (1911) cultured cells that had migrated from tissue fragments of tapeworms that were parasitic to sharks. Insect tissue culture
was started about a decade later by Goldschmidt (1915). Since then, invertebrate tissue culture had progressed by following the techniques developed for the culture of vertebrate tissues. Therefore, it can be said that
the techniques for invertebrate tissue culture are essentially the same as
those used in the culture of vertebrate tissues. However, invertebrates
are a diverse group of animals, and their structure and physiologic characteristics are different to those of vertebrates. Thus, it becomes necessary to modify vertebrate tissue culture methods in order to apply them
to the culture of invertebrate tissues. During the early stages of culture
attempts, limited success was achieved in the primary culture of invertebrate cells. For a long time, subculturing invertebrate cells was not possible, and the idea that invertebrate cells, unlike vertebrate cells, cannot
grow for long periods in vitro had been generally accepted around the
time of the 1950s. A breakthrough in this pessimism was made by Grace
(1962) in Australia. He obtained the first continuously growing cells from
an insect, Antheraea eucalypti (Lepidoptera, Saturniidae). His success
encouraged workers in the field of invertebrate cell culture, mostly insect cell culturists, and, thereafter, many continuous cell lines were established from various insects. It is said that more than 400 cell lines
have been established in insect cell cultures. However, some cell lines
have been lost already, and, in addition, the establishment of many cell
lines has not been reported properly. Therefore, the actual number of
insect cell lines that now exist is not certain. The cell culture of invertebrates other than insects seems to be more difficult compared with the
culture of insect cells. There are many economically important marine
invertebrates, and the establishment of cell lines from these invertebrates
is eagerly awaited, especially from the standpoint of their pathology. Recently, various techniques have been developed for invertebrate cell culture, and some continuous cell lines have been obtained from inverte-
In invertebrate tissue culture, the culture of insect tissues has advanced
to the greatest extent. However, initial attempts to culture invertebrate
cells were made with marine invertebrates. Harrison (1903), known as
the founder of vertebrate tissue culture because of his famous experiment on the in vitro development of nerve fibers, had already tried to
culture Limulus (Crustacea) nerve fibers in vitro before his work on the
in vitro culture of neuroblasts of amphibians (Harrison, 1907). Wilson
(1907) also reported on the maintenance of dissociated sponge cells in
vitro, and Morse (1911) cultured cells that had migrated from tissue fragments of tapeworms that were parasitic to sharks. Insect tissue culture
was started about a decade later by Goldschmidt (1915). Since then, invertebrate tissue culture had progressed by following the techniques developed for the culture of vertebrate tissues. Therefore, it can be said that
the techniques for invertebrate tissue culture are essentially the same as
those used in the culture of vertebrate tissues. However, invertebrates
are a diverse group of animals, and their structure and physiologic characteristics are different to those of vertebrates. Thus, it becomes necessary to modify vertebrate tissue culture methods in order to apply them
to the culture of invertebrate tissues. During the early stages of culture
attempts, limited success was achieved in the primary culture of invertebrate cells. For a long time, subculturing invertebrate cells was not possible, and the idea that invertebrate cells, unlike vertebrate cells, cannot
grow for long periods in vitro had been generally accepted around the
time of the 1950s. A breakthrough in this pessimism was made by Grace
(1962) in Australia. He obtained the first continuously growing cells from
an insect, Antheraea eucalypti (Lepidoptera, Saturniidae). His success
encouraged workers in the field of invertebrate cell culture, mostly insect cell culturists, and, thereafter, many continuous cell lines were established from various insects. It is said that more than 400 cell lines
have been established in insect cell cultures. However, some cell lines
have been lost already, and, in addition, the establishment of many cell
lines has not been reported properly. Therefore, the actual number of
insect cell lines that now exist is not certain. The cell culture of invertebrates other than insects seems to be more difficult compared with the
culture of insect cells. There are many economically important marine
invertebrates, and the establishment of cell lines from these invertebrates
is eagerly awaited, especially from the standpoint of their pathology. Recently, various techniques have been developed for invertebrate cell culture, and some continuous cell lines have been obtained from inverte-