Advances in protoplast fusion and transformation in Streptomyces

Rapid advances have been made in recent years on protoplast research in the economically important Streptomyces. The use of protoplasts has facilitated the development of efficient techniques for intra- and interspecific genetic recombination by fusion and by gene cloning. This report summarizes current protoplast methodologies as they relate to both protoplast fusion and genetic transformation, points out some genetic instabilities associated with protoplast techniques, and speculates on future directions to broaden the applications of protoplasts for heterospecific gene recombination and cloning in Streptomyces.