Seminar: Dr. Lucy Lee

Title 1: Using fish cell lines to illustrate ante factum and post factum properties of animal cell lines and cell line groupings of invitromes

Title 2: Cell Cultured Seafood: 20+ years in the making 

Speaker 1: Dr. Niels Bols, University of Waterloo

Speaker 2: Dr. Lucy Lee, University of Fraser Valley

Host: Dr. Sook Chung 

Abstract 1: The case will be made that animal cell lines have two classes of attributes: ante factum (“before-the-fact”) and post factum (“after- the-fact”) properties. Ante factum properties are set at the initiation of a cell line.  These are the properties of the sample that was used to prepare the primary cell culture, the species from which the sample was taken, and the scientist(s) or laboratory who developed the primary culture into a cell line.  By contrast, post factum properties appear during the development, characterization, storage, and use of the cell line.  Both ante factum and post factum properties can be used to group cell lines into invitromes.  Invitromes are sets of cell lines organized around different themes and are meant to stimulate new research questions and to make cell lines a better resource for more scientific disciplines. Fish cell lines will be used to illustrate how ante and post factum properties can used to group the cell lines in numerous different ways.   For example, on the basis of sample properties, invitromes exist for embryos, larvae, juveniles, adults, and spawning fish.  For species properties, all cell lines are from the Actinopterygii, except for a very small shark invitrome. On the basis of properties appearing during development, most fish cell lines are adherent, have an epithelial-like shape, and are immortal.  Considering cell lines by their before- and after-the- fact properties should facilitate integration of cell lines into the literature of other research areas, particularly the natural history of fishes.  

Abstract 2: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) sparked the idea to grow fish meat within a laboratory using fish cell lines over 20 years ago. Thus, research into food production in confined areas for long space travel, paved the way for “Cellular agriculture/aquaculture”. The ease of growing fish cell lines and the lesser energy requirements for producing poikilothermic cells is igniting the rise of “cell cultured seafood”. However, it is the continuing anthropogenic pollution, overfishing, climate change and the need to feed a booming global population, that alternatives to conventional fisheries and aquaculture must be found. Cellular aquaculture is being touted as the next best solution to the increased demand for seafood, and as more and more “immortal” cell lines are being created, the possibilities of creating “seafood in the lab” is becoming more of a reality. In this presentation I will share my experiences of developing fish cell lines and their relevance in advancing basic research as well as their biomedical and biotechnological applications.

Contact imetdirectorsoffice@umces.edu for meeting details.