Establishment and characterization of fibroblast cultures derived from a female common hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) skin biopsy.

The population decline of the common hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) has necessitated the preservation of their genetic resources for species conservation and research. Of all actions, cryopreservation of fibroblast cell cultures derived from an animal biopsy is considered a simple but efficient means. Nevertheless, preserving viable cell cultures of the common hippopotamus has not been achieved to our knowledge.

Establishment and characterization of a fibroblast cell line from postmortem skin of an adult Chinese muntjac (Muntiacus reevesi).

Isolation and culture of somatic cells from animals especially endangered species have raised great concerns as it is being an effective and convenient way to preserve genetic materials for future studies. As a species native to China, Chinese muntjac (Muntiacus reevesi) is listed as a beneficial species with economic and scientific research values. To our knowledge, however, there have been no published reports on somatic cell preservation of this species to date.

Transcriptome variations among human embryonic stem cell lines are associated with their differentiation propensity.

Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) have the potential to form any cell type in the body, making them attractive cell sources in drug screening, regenerative medicine, disease and developmental processes modeling. However, not all hESC lines have the equal potency to generate desired cell types in vitro. Significant variations have been observed for the differentiation efficiency of various human ESC lines.