Establishment of a gill-derived cell line in Sebastes schlegelii with practicability in studies of bacterial pathogen-host interaction

Xin Zhang; Yan Ling Sun; Qiang Fu; Chao Li; Hui Jun Huo

doi:10.1016/j.fsi.2025.110454

Establishment of a gill-derived cell line in Sebastes schlegelii with practicability in studies of bacterial pathogen-host interaction

Fish Shellfish Immunol. 2025 May 23:165:110454. doi: 10.1016/j.fsi.2025.110454. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Xin Zhang¹, Yan Ling Sun¹, Qiang Fu¹, Chao Li², Hui Jun Huo³

Affiliations

¹ School of Marine Science and Engineering, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao, Shandong Province, 266109, China.
² School of Marine Science and Engineering, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao, Shandong Province, 266109, China. Electronic address: chaoli@qau.edu.cn.
³ School of Marine Science and Engineering, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao, Shandong Province, 266109, China. Electronic address: huohuijun@qau.edu.cn.

PMID: 40414472
DOI: 10.1016/j.fsi.2025.110454

Abstract

In this study, we established and described a continuous cell line derived from gill of Sebastes schlegelii, named SSG. This cell line has been successively cultured for over 50 passages. Karyotype analysis confirmed the presence of 48 normal diploid chromosomes in the cells. Sequencing results of COX1 and 16S rRNA genes verified the S. schlegelii origin of SSG cells. SSG demonstrated moderate transfection efficiency with siRNA probes, indicating its potential for gene interference studies. Infection sensitivity assessments revealed that Edwardsiella piscicida can successfully survive and proliferate in SSG, triggering an immune response characterized by the substantial production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the upregulation of immune-related genes. This in vitro infection model provides an effective tool for studying bacterial pathogen-host interaction mechanisms in gill of S. schlegelii and holds significant importance for the prevention and control of bacterial diseases in this species.

Keywords: Black rockfish; Cell line; Edwardsiella piscicida; Pathogen-host interaction; Sebastes schlegelii.