Expanding access to cell lines
Access to cell lines is a key barrier to cultivated meat research. Learn how GFI is streamlining access to cell lines and funding the development of new lines.
Share a cell line
Have you developed a line you’d like to share with the community?
Why cell lines?
Cells are the fundamental building blocks of both conventionally-produced and cultivated meat. High-quality cell lines are essential ingredients for making cultivated meat that is safe, nutritious, and tasty. However, that’s not the only reason GFI is so focused on this piece of the puzzle. Innovating in areas such as media, scaffolding, and bioreactors is more difficult when there is a lack of fundamental research tools like cell lines. By overcoming an obstacle that will affect the majority of cultivated meat research projects, we can lower the barrier to these downstream areas for innovation.
Cell line repository for seafood species
GFI’s Sustainable Seafood Initiative is enabling high-impact research to address critical challenges facing the plant-based and cultivated seafood sector. These projects will greatly reduce the barrier to entry for new researchers and innovators. One of those high-priority projects is focused on developing and increasing access to cell lines from aquatic species.
Current cell line research
Seafood cell lines
Learn about Dr. Kevan Main and Dr. Cathy Walsh’s work at Mote Marine Laboratory to develop cell lines and methodology for cultivated seafood.
The Frozen Farmyard repository
Learn about Dr. Gareth Sullivan’s work to develop a “frozen farmyard” cell line repository for cultivated meat.
Myosatellite lines from Atlantic salmon
Through the GFI grant program, the Kaplan lab is developing myosatellite lines for cultivated Atlantic salmon at Tufts University
Find a cell line
Through a partnership with the reagents company Kerafast, we are streamlining access to existing cell lines. You can also check out a comprehensive list of cultivated meat-relevant lines from a variety of sources in our Research Tools Directory, or learn more about cell lines that have been developed from seafood species using PISCES.
Featured resources
Cultivated Meat Research Tools Database
Use this crowdsourced directory to find species-specific information on research tools, reagents, protocols, and data for cultivated meat researchers.
Aggregating data for alternative seafood
Use our open-access databases to explore how scientific taxonomies and evolutionary relationships map onto culinary categories of seafood.
Get updates on new cell lines
Can’t find a cell line that meets your needs? Let us know what you’re looking for and we’ll send you an update if and when something similar becomes available, whether that be through Kerafast’s catalog or another source.
Why share a cell line?
If you’ve developed a cell line relevant to cultivated meat, should you share it? Maybe! Making your cell lines available to the community is not only a chance to accelerate cultivated meat research, it could also be a smart business or career move.
Share a cell line
Do you have a cell line you’re interested in sharing with the community? Get in touch with us using this form to discuss adding your line to the repository!