Plenary 4
The Role of Tick and Insect Cell Lines in Research on Arthropod-borne Bacterial Pathogens and Symbionts

Since the first successful propagation of the bovine pathogen Anaplasma marginale in a tick cell line and the insect symbiont Wolbachia in a mosquito cell line three decades ago, arthropod cell lines have played a vital role in research on obligate and facultatively intracellular arthropod-borne bacteria. I will present an overview of the applications of tick and insect cell lines in isolation, cultivation and study of bacterial genera including Anaplasma, Bartonella, Ehrlichia, Neoehrlichia, Rickettsia, Spiroplasma and Wolbachia. I will summarise the range of currently-available tick and insect vector cell lines, how they were generated, and where to source them.