Establishment of immortalized primary cell from the critically endangered Bonin flying fox (Pteropus pselaphon)

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 14; no. 8; p. e0221364
• Main Authors: Tani, Tetsuya, Eitsuka, Takahiro, Katayama, Masafumi, Nagamine, Takashi, Nakaya, Yumiko, Suzuki, Hajime, Kiyono, Tohru, Nakagawa, Kiyotaka, Inoue-Murayama, Miho, Onuma, Manabu, Fukuda, Tomokazu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 26.08.2019; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Analysis; Animal behavior; Animal species; Animals; Bats; Bats (Animals); Biology and Life Sciences; Caretta caretta; Cell growth; Cell Line - cytology; Chiroptera; Conservation; Cyclin D1; Cyclin-dependent kinase 4; DNA polymerases; Embryo; Embryo, Mammalian - cytology; Embryonic development; Embryos; Endangered & extinct species; Endangered Species; Gene expression; Genes; Humans; Immortalization; Kinases; Livestock; Nuclear transfer; Physical Sciences; Primary Cell Culture - methods; Pteropus pselaphon; Research and Analysis Methods; RNA-directed DNA polymerase; Senescence; Somatic cell nuclear transfer; Swine; Telomerase; Telomerase reverse transcriptase; Wildlife conservation; Japan; Okinawa; Bonin Islands
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0221364

The Bonin flying fox (Pteropus pselaphon) is one of the most critically endangered species of animals. The number of this species is estimated to be around 150; being classified at the top rank in the list by International Union of Animal Conservation. Our group previously showed that expression of CDK4, CYCLIN D1, and telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) efficiently induce immortalization of human, bovine, swine, monkey, and buffalo-derived cells. In this manuscript, we successfully established the primary cells from Bonin flying fox. We introduced CDK4, CYCLIN D1, and TERT into the primary cells. The established cells showed efficient expression of introduced genes at the protein level. Furthermore, the established cells were free from senescence, indicating it reached to immortalization. Moreover, we showed that interspecies somatic cell nuclear transfer of Bonin flying fox derived cell into bovine embryo allowed the development of the embryo to 8 cell stages. Our established cell has the potential to contribute to species conservation.