ABSTRACT
Insects hold a unique position in the study of viruses and virus diseases. The expression vector system has provided the high-dollar products needed to attract research funds and effort into the development of new media and new culture systems for the large-scale propagation of insect cells. This chapter discusses the progress made toward the development of such systems. The development of satisfactory cell lines and culture methods has proceeded at a slow, irregular pace, inhibited by the lack of knowledge of the physiology of the insect, its small size, and often by the lack of consistent, adequate support for the necessary developmental research. Isolation of strains from single cells of established cell lines can help to maximize the yields from large-scale processes. Frozen samples of cloned, characterized cell lines should be stored either as a backup reserve in case of accidental loss of the active culture or as the initial stock to prepare the seed cultures for a production.
