Isolation and Transplantation of Nuclei into Plant Protoplasts

Plant protoplasts can internalize a variety of particles ranging from molecules (e.g., ferritin) to entire (algal) protoplasts, a size rangeof 0.09-23 �m (1 ). This capacity to take up foreign bodies provides a powerful tool with which to investigate the functions of cell organelles. Also, protoplasts are the material of choice from which to isolate organelles, because they are easy to rupture, and isolates are not contaminated with cell wall fragments.