A More Accessible, Time-Saving, and Efficient Method for In Vitro Plant Regeneration from Potato Protoplasts

Both obtaining high-yielding, viable protoplasts and following reliable regeneration protocols are prerequisites for the continuous expansion and development of newly emerging systems involving protoplast utilization. This study determines an efficient process from protoplast isolation to shoot regeneration in vitro. The maximum yield of protoplast extraction, which was 6.36 ± 0.51 × 10⁶ protoplasts/g fresh weight (FW), was approximately 3.7 times higher than that previously reported for potato protoplasts. To obtain data, wounded leaves were used by partially cutting both sides of the midrib, and isolated protoplasts were purified by the sucrose cushion method, with a sucrose concentration of 20%. We confirmed a significant effect on the extraction efficiency by measuring enzymolysis during a 6 h period, with three times more washing buffer than the amount normally used. Protoplasts fixed in alginate lenses with appropriate space were successfully recovered and developed into microcalli 2 weeks after culture. In addition, to induce high efficiency regeneration from protoplasts, calli in which greening occurred for 6 weeks were induced to develop shoots in regeneration medium solidified by Gelrite, and they presented a high regeneration efficiency of 86.24 ± 11.76%.