title: Uptake of auxotrophic cells of a heterocyst-forming cyanobacterium by tobacco protoplasts, and the fate of their associations.
abstract: Auxotrophic cells of the filamentous cyanobacterium Anabaena variabilis Kütz. were introduced into protoplasts of Nicotiana tabacum L. in an attempt to engineer a nitrogen-fixing endosymbiosis. Conditions were established to maximize uptake of the cyanobacteria by use of polyethylene glycol. Culture of the novel association was not successful: tobacco protoplasts with Anabaena inside did not appear to divide. Most of the protoplasts expelled the cyanobacteria and simultaneously disintegrated. The reasons for the incompatibility are not known.
authors.affiliation: MSU-ERDA Plant Research Laboratory, Michigan State University, 48824, East Lansing, MI, USA.
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Meeks
authors.forename: R L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Malmberg
authors.forename: C P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Wolk