Electrofusion Prompts Regeneration of Yeast Protoplasts: Effect of Electric Pulse and Media on the Regeneraion Efficiency

Abstract

Regeneration efficiency of protoplasts is one of very important factors in breeding of yeasts using electrofusion. When both an alternative current (0.4 kV/cm, 2 MHz) for 10 s and 5 times of directive pulses (5.0 kV/cm, 50 µs) were successively charged to yeast protoplasts in the medium containing sorbitol (0.8 M) and MgCl₂(0.2 mM), about 60 folds increase in the regeneration efficiency was observed with increase of average diameters of the protoplasts compared to the efficiency before electrofusion. Electrofusion was found to increase the regeneration efficiency of the yeast protoplasts.