Question

What are the physical barriers of a cell in the protoplast fusion experiment? How are the barriers overcome?

Answer 1

Protoplast fusion:

Protoplast is the protoplasm of the plant cell devoid of the cell wall. Fusion of the protoplast derived from somatic cells of plants belonging to different species to produce a hybrid protoplast is called protoplast fusion.

Physical barriers of a cell in the protoplast fusion experiment:

The physical barrier of a cell in the protoplast fusion experiment is the cell wall of a plant cell. Plant cell wall is a rigid protective boundary composed of three layers - primary cell wall, middle lamella and secondary cell wall. These layers are made up of cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin, pectin, microfibrils and proteins.

Removal of barrier in protoplast fusion:

Barrier in protoplast fusion is overcome by removing the plant cell wall by subjecting the cell to digestive enzymes like cellulase and pectinase. These enzymes break down the cellulose and pectin components of the plant cell wall, thereby physically removing the cell wall and leaving behind the protoplast which can be isolated. Protoplasts collected from two different plant species can then be fused using chemical or physical methods.