New Cell Lines Derived from Laboratory Colony Triatoma infestans and Rhodnius prolixus , Vectors of Trypanosoma cruzi , Do Not Harbour Triatoma Virus

Triatomine bugs of the genera and are vectors of Chagas disease, a neglected tropical disease of humans in South America caused by . Triatoma virus (TrV), a natural pathogen of , has been proposed as a possible tool for the bio-control of triatomine bugs, but research into this virus has been hampered by a lack of suitable host cells for propagation. Here we report establishment and partial characterisation of continuous cell lines from embryos of (TIE/LULS54) and (RPE/LULS53 and RPE/LULS57). RNAseq screening by a sequence-independent, single primer amplification approach confirmed the absence of TrV and other RNA viruses known to infect , indicating that these new cell lines could be used for propagation of TrV.