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| Protoplast Culture |
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| Protoplast is a cell without cell wall. In plants, the cells are invariably surrounded by thick cell wall made of cellulose and pectin. During the process of tissue culture and using it for crop improvement, cell wall acts as a barrier to induce mutations or some times to develop the callus. |
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| In such situations, cell wall is dissolved by the use of cellulase and pectinase and a naked protoplast can be freed. Such protoplast itself can be developed into individual plants or they could be used to fuse with naked protoplast of other varieties or species to produce what are called as somatic embryo. Crossing the protoplasts has been greatly facilitated by chemicals such as polyethylene glycol or by other processes such as electro fusion. Such hybridization is called somatic hybridization. Some successful somatic hybrids are reported to have developed by crossing protoplasts of two species in crops such as Brassica, Nicotiana, Petunia and Solanum. A hybrid between potato and tomato called as pomato - intergeneric hybrid has been obtained by somatic hybridization. Possibility of crossing distinct species of same genera or different genera has been found mainly due to somatic hybridization techniques. |
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| Somatic hybridization is commercially useful in inducing somatic male sterility or cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) by fusion of nucleus of one species with cytoplasm of other species. Such CMS lines provide immense opportunities to release commercial hybrids. |
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