Scalable Transfection of Maize Mesophyll Protoplasts

The transfection of maize mesophyll cells often involves digesting the plant cell walls to create protoplasts and then inserting DNA via electroporation or polyethylene glycol (PEG). Previous methods were developed to produce tens of thousands of transfected protoplasts at once. Here, we describe a straightforward method to isolate and transfect millions of leaf mesophyll protoplasts in maize (Zea mays L.). This streamlined process removes certain common protoplasting steps, such as washing in W5. Additionally, steps such as centrifugation, PEG-mediated transfection, and incubation have been modified to work with a greater number of protoplasts. The ability to express large libraries of plasmid constructs enables genome-scale experiments, such as massively parallel reporter assays in maize.