Question

Two protoplasts can be made to fused by the application of

• A. Electrofusion
• B. Polyethylene glycol
• C. Sodium nitrate
• D. All the above

Answer 1

Answer: (D)

All the above

Protoplast fusion is a technique to get hybrid plants with desired characters. The protoplast obtained from the parent plants are fused together to form a hybrid cell which is cultured on nutrient media. The technique used for fusion of protoplast are as followed:

1) Electrofusion is a technique in which the cells are exposed to electric fields which makes the cell wall porous and allows the fusion of parent cell.

2) Polyethylene glycol is used for protoplast fusion and this technique is known as chemofusion. It allows the fusion of protoplast when treated with calcium ions.

3) Sodium nitrate also allows protoplast fusion. Place 4 ml of 5.5% sodium nitrate in 10.2 percent sucrose solution to suspend the protoplast pellet. The suspended protoplasts are kept in waterbath. The fusions of protoplast take place at the time of incubation.

So, the correct answer is option D.