Identification Testing

Cross-contamination of cell lines, where one cell line becomes contaminated with a second cell line, is a common issue in cell culture. First publicised in connection with the HeLa cell line in the 1960s, cross-contamination has been estimated in various studies to affect between 13 and 36% of existing cell lines (Lacroix M, Int. J. Cancer, 122:1-4, 2008; Capes-Davis A et al., Int. J. Cancer, 127:1-8, 2010). While using authenticated cell lines obtained from a cell line respository, such as CellBank Australia, and good cell culture practices minimize the risk of cross-contamination, it still occurs. It is important for laboratories undertaking cell culture to regularly test their cell lines for cross-contamination.

CellBank Australia recommends that all researchers check their cell lines against the latest List of Cross-Contaminated or Misidentified Cell Lines before use.  

Our approach 

For human cell lines, CellBank Australia uses Short Tandem Repear (STR) profiling, in line with the draft international standard currently being prepared by the ATCC Standards Development Organisation Workgroup ASN-0002 and widely used in the field of forensic testing. This method examines the number of tetranucleotide repeats at various loci to differentiate cell lines from different donors.

For non-human cell lines, identification is currently limited to confirming the species from which the cell line was derived. The method used by CellBank Australia involves the amplification and sequencing of cytochrome oxidase subunit 1.

Prices

Identification testing	Price (ex-GST)
STR profiling (human cell line)	$375.00 per sample
Species identification (non-human cell line)	$150.00 per sample

Discounts of up to 25% for STR profiling and 20% for species identification are available for bulk testing (8 or more samples). Please contact us for a quote on identification testing. 

How to order

For species identification of non-human cell lines, please contact CellBank Australia (info@cellbankaustralia.com, +61 2 8865 2850) for more information.