Directed electrofusion between protoplasts with different responses in a mass fusion system

Protoplasts of Solanum brevidens (leaves) and Nicotiana rustica (suspensions) have been aligned and fused electrically between widely spaced electrodes, and the yield of 1:1 (binary) fusion products in chains of aligned protoplasts has been determined by light microscopy. Leaf protoplasts fuse more easily than protoplasts from suspension cultures (Tempelaar and Jones, 1985), thus electrical parameters and the ratio of leaf: suspension protoplasts can be varied to control the yield of binary and multifusion products. In experiments to determine optimum ratios for electrofusion, up to 60-70% of S. brevidens - N. rustica fusion products were binary at overall fusion frequencies of 40-50%.Fusions in samples of protoplasts with the same characteristics can also be controlled to direct the fusion process towards binary products. However, in this case, at least half of the binary products may be derived from self-fusions.