New Cell Lines Derived from Laboratory Colony Triatoma infestans and Rhodnius prolixus, Vectors of Trypanosoma cruzi, Do Not Harbour Triatoma Virus

Simple Summary Arthropod vector cell lines play an important role in research on the biology and control of blood-feeding insects and the diseases they transmit. Kissing bugs of the genera Triatoma and Rhodnius transmit Trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of Chagas disease in humans in tropical Latin America. We have developed new cell lines from two of the major vectors of T. cruzi, Triatoma infestans and Rhodnius prolixus, and have shown that they do not harbour any contaminating bacteria or known insect-borne viruses. We propose that the new cell lines may be suitable host cells for Triatoma virus, a natural pathogen of T. infestans that has been proposed as a biocontrol agent but cannot be grown in existing cell lines. The new cell lines may also be used to study interactions between trypanosomes and cells of their vectors. Triatomine bugs of the genera Triatoma and Rhodnius are vectors of Chagas disease, a neglected tropical disease of humans in South America caused by Trypanosoma cruzi. Triatoma virus (TrV), a natural pathogen of Triatoma infestans, has been proposed as a possible tool for the bio-control of triatomine bugs, but research into this virus has been hampered by a lack of suitable host cells for in vitro propagation. Here we report establishment and partial characterisation of continuous cell lines from embryos of T. infestans (TIE/LULS54) and Rhodnius prolixus (RPE/LULS53 and RPE/LULS57). RNAseq screening by a sequence-independent, single primer amplification approach confirmed the absence of TrV and other RNA viruses known to infect R. prolixus, indicating that these new cell lines could be used for propagation of TrV.