Abstract:

The aim of this study was to explore the method for culture and identification in vitro of the alpaca skin melanocytes， to lay a foundation for the establishment of the alpaca skin melanocytes lines, and to provide an ideal biological material for coat color genes function and somatic clone studies. Alpaca skin melanocytes were obtained by the two step digestion method of DispaseⅡ and trypsin/EDTA, and the primary and secondary culture in vitro were carried out. Morphological observation and growth curve were used to evaluate the proliferation and differentiation ability of alpaca skin melanocytes. The cells were identified with Dopa-staining, immunochemical staining, electron microscope and RT-PCR. The cells showed strong proliferation ability in the proliferative media. Dopa-staining showed that the cultured alpaca skin melanocytes had melanin synthesis, immunochemical staining, RT-PCR and electron-microscopy technology assay demonstrated that the cell differentiation was normal. The results showed that the culture system was established successfully in vitro.