title: Plant protoplasts as genetic tool: selectable markers for developmental studies.
abstract: Protoplasts have usually been presented as a methodological tool. Even as such, they make possible an impressive array of applications in plant biology. Here we report on the use of protoplast-derived selectable markers in the study of several disturbed genetic systems with obvious effects on plant development: (1) auxotrophic mutants and the control of amino acid biosynthesis and transport in vegetative and reproductive tissues; (2) introgression of alien genetic information across phylogenetic boundaries by protoplast fusion, a consequence of controlled dedifferentiation-redifferentiation processes and attenuated incompatibility reactions in cultured cells; (3) expression (in)stability of foreign genes in transgenic plants during successive meiotic generations and in crosses between independent transformants.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Plant Genetics, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Negrutiu
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hinnisdaels
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cammaerts
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Cherdshewasart
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gharti-Chhetri
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jacobs
mesh_terms: D002478:Cells, Cultured; D005821:Genetic Techniques; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics; D059828:Plant Cells; D010944:Plants / Q000235:genetics*; D011523:Protoplasts / Q000166:cytology*