Marsupial cells in long-term culture

Summary Cell lines have been developed from several species of Australian marsupials and studied during long-term growth. Cell lines developed from macropodid skin or heart tissues all had reproducible finite life-spans. However, cell lines developed from dasyurids showed variable behavior in culture: lines developed fromAntechinus stuartii andDasyurus viverrinus had finite life-spans, while lines developed fromSminthopsis crassicaudata had indefinite life-spans.S. crassicaudata lines usually became heteroploid, but one was still diploid after 150 population doublings, while another contained a proportion (10%) of haploid cells. Other lines were developed from the peramelid,Perameles nasuta, and the phalangerid,Trichosurus vulpecula.