The humpback grouper (Cromileptes altivelis) is a commercially important species of the family Epinephelidae. With the development in aquaculture industry, C. altivelis breeding has gradually increased in volumetric production, leading to the occurrence of various diseases. In this study, we established a new cell line (CAM) derived from the muscle tissue of C. altivelis. Our results showed that the optimal growth temperature and working concentration of fetal bovine serum (FBS) of CAM cells were 28 °C and 15%, respectively. DNA sequencing and comparative analysis of 18S rRNA gene sequence showed that CAM cell line was originated from C. altivelis. Chromosome analysis showed that the modal chromosome number of CAM cells was 48. After transfection using pEGFP-N3 plasmid, CAM cells exhibited high transfection efficiency, indicating that CAM cells could be used in foreign gene expression studies. Further, cytotoxicity analysis revealed that CAM cells were sensitive to Vibrio harveyi and Edwardsiella tarda. Moreover, the cytotoxicity of heavy metals (Hg, Cd, and Cu) to CAM cells was dose-dependent. This CAM cell line might be used as an ideal tool in vitro for analyzing and understanding the mechanisms of pathogenesis, host-pathogen interactions, and toxicity assay of heavy metals.

座头石斑鱼（Cromileptes altivelis）是E草科的重要商业物种。随着水产养殖业的发展，小球藻育种的产量逐渐增加，导致各种疾病的发生。在这项研究中，我们建立了一个新的细胞系（CAM），该细胞系来源于C. altivelis的肌肉组织。我们的结果表明，CAM细胞胎牛血清（FBS）的最佳生长温度和工作浓度分别为28°C和15％。DNA测序和18S rRNA基因序列的比较分析表明CAM细胞系起源于美洲梭状芽胞杆菌。染色体分析显示CAM细胞的模态染色体数为48。使用pEGFP-N3质粒转染后，CAM细胞显示出高转染效率，表明CAM细胞可用于外源基因表达研究。此外，细胞毒性分析表明，CAM细胞对哈维氏弧菌和塔氏爱德华氏菌敏感。此外，重金属（Hg，Cd和Cu）对CAM细胞的细胞毒性是剂量依赖性的。该CAM细胞系可能被用作体外分析和了解重金属的发病机理，宿主-病原体相互作用和毒性测定的理想工具。