The use of insect cell line Sf21 for ecotoxicity testing

Authors

Trevor Grigg, School of Biological and Marine Sciences
Richard D. Handy, School of Biological and Marine Science
Richard A. Billington, School of Biological and Marine Sciences

ORCID

• Trevor Grigg: 0000-0003-0566-4503
• Richard A. Billington: 0000-0001-7288-8916

Abstract

Insect cell lines are finding utility in many areas of biology, but their application as an in vitro tool for ecotoxicity testing has been given less attention. Our study aimed to demonstrate the utility and sensitivity of Sf21 cells to commonly used fungicides: Propiconazole and CuSO₄, as well as dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO) an industrial solvent. Sf21 cells were readily cultured from frozen stocks in 3-4 days and showed utility as an invertebrate in vitro acute toxicity test. The data showed the threshold levels of cell survivability against propiconazole and CuSO₄. The EC₅₀ values were 135.1 μM and 3.31 mM respectively. The LOAEL (lowest observed adverse effect level) was ≈ 1 μM for propiconazole and ≈ 10 μM for CuSO₄. Culturing of Sf21 cells in media containing the solvent DMSO showed that 0.5% DMSO concentration did not effect cell viability. Sf21 cells are sensitive and useful as a robust ecologically relevant screening tool for acute toxicity testing.

DOI

10.1007/s10646-024-02781-9

Publication Date

2024-10-01

Publication Title

Ecotoxicology

Volume

33

Issue

8

ISSN

0963-9292

Keywords

Agrochemical testing, Copper sulphate, Cytotoxicity assay, Insect cells, Propiconazole, Sf21 cells

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

First Page

831

Last Page

838

Recommended Citation

Grigg, T., Handy, R., & Billington, R. (2024) 'The use of insect cell line Sf21 for ecotoxicity testing', Ecotoxicology, 33(8), pp. 831-838. Available at: 10.1007/s10646-024-02781-9