Isolation and in vitro culture of primary cell populations derived from ovarian tissues of the rockfish, Sebastes schlegeli

This study was conducted to identify the general conditions for the isolation and in vitro culture of ovary-derived cells in rockfish (Sebastes schlegeli). The effects of three different enzymes on cell retrieval from ovarian tissues were evaluated first, and then the ovary-dissociated cells were cultured under various culture conditions, with varying basal media and culture temperatures, addition of growth factors, and/or culture types. We found that collagenase type I treatment was effective for cell isolation from ovarian tissues. From a total of 42 trials to evaluate the effects of basal media and culture temperatures on cell culture of ovary-dissociated cells, we observed that Leibovitz's L15 medium was more supportive than Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium for culture, and the cells could grow at all three temperatures tested, 15, 20, and $25^{\circ}C$, at least up to passage 2. However, growth factor addition did not improve cell growth. Introduction of suspension culture after monolayer culture expanded the culture period significantly more than did monolayer culture alone. Our results may provide a basis for developing an in vitro system for S. schlegeli germline cell culture, which will ultimately lead to improvement of the species.