ARI-TOX Marine Wildlife CellBank

The ARI-TOX Marine Wildlife CellBank is Australia’s first marine wildlife cell culture bank – for cetaceans (dolphins and whales), pinnipeds (seals), dugongs, reptiles (turtles and crocodiles) and elasmobranchs (sharks and rays). These cell cultures will provide a platform for the international scientific community to research these often threatened animals, thereby enhancing management and conservation of Australian marine wildlife.

The ARI-TOX Marine Wildlife CellBank is housed at the Griffith University G51 Research Laboratories on the Gold Coast of Australia. All cultures are stored between -140 and -180 °C in the vapour phase of liquid nitrogen. The establishment and characterisation of the initial 26 cell cultures from sea turtles, cetaceans and dugong was funded by the Sea World Research and Rescue Foundation Inc., the Winifred Violet Scott Charitable Trust and Griffith University.

Upon request, cell cultures will be made available to researchers around the world. Simply search the database, and contact us (see bottom of this page) detailing the cell culture(s) you wish to access and the objectives of your research and expected outcomes. Packaging and transport of the samples will be arranged by the ARI-TOX Marine Wildlife CellBank staff, and all costs of transport will be at the expense of the requester.

Catalog of available cell cultures

Cell Line ID	Animal Group	Sub-Group	Species Name	Common Name	Tissue
BW01k-p	Mammals	Whales	Mesoplodan densirostris	Blainville's beaked whale	Kidney
BD01s-p	Mammals	Dolphins	Tursiops australis	Burrunan dolphin	Skin
BD04s-p	Mammals	Dolphins	Tursiops australis	Burrunan dolphin	Skin
CB01s-p	Mammals	Dolphins	Tursiops truncatus	Common bottlenose dolphin	Skin
CB02s-p	Mammals	Dolphins	Tursiops truncatus	Common bottlenose dolphin	Skin
DD03s-p	Mammals	Dugongs	Dugong dugon	Dugong	Skin
RD01g-p	Mammals	Dolphins	Grampus griseus	Risso's dolphin	Lung
GT06s-p	Reptiles	Sea turtles	Chelonia mydas	Green turtle	Skin
GT01s-p	Reptiles	Sea turtles	Chelonia mydas	Green turtle	Skin
GT04s-p	Reptiles	Sea turtles	Chelonia mydas	Green turtle	Skin
GT07s-p	Reptiles	Sea turtles	Chelonia mydas	Green turtle	Skin
GT08h-p	Reptiles	Sea turtles	Chelonia mydas	Green turtle	Heart
GT08i-p	Reptiles	Sea turtles	Chelonia mydas	Green turtle	Small intestine
GT08k-p	Reptiles	Sea turtles	Chelonia mydas	Green turtle	Kidney
GT10i-p	Reptiles	Sea turtles	Chelonia mydas	Green turtle	Small intestine
GT10l-p	Reptiles	Sea turtles	Chelonia mydas	Green turtle	Liver
GT10o-p	Reptiles	Sea turtles	Chelonia mydas	Green turtle	Ovary
GT12h-p	Reptiles	Sea turtles	Chelonia mydas	Green turtle	Heart
GT12o-p	Reptiles	Sea turtles	Chelonia mydas	Green turtle	Ovary
GT14k-p	Reptiles	Sea turtles	Chelonia mydas	Green turtle	Kidney
GT14t-p	Reptiles	Sea turtles	Chelonia mydas	Green turtle	Testes
HT02s-p	Reptiles	Sea turtles	Eretmochelys imbricata	Hawksbill turtle	Skin
LT05s-p	Reptiles	Sea turtles	Caretta caretta	Loggerhead turtle	Skin
LT06b-p	Reptiles	Sea turtles	Caretta caretta	Loggerhead turtle	Brain
LT06h-p	Reptiles	Sea turtles	Caretta caretta	Loggerhead turtle	Heart
LT06s-p	Reptiles	Sea turtles	Caretta caretta	Loggerhead turtle	Skin

Contact us

For more information about the ARI-TOX Marine Wildlife CellBank, or to contact us to obtain one of our cell lines, please contact:

Dr Jason van de Merwe
E: j.vandemerwe@griffith.edu.au
Tel: +61 7 5552 8949