Development of a New Electrode Chamber and Its Efficiency in Protoplast Fusion in Citrus

Abstract

A new electrode chamber with concentric circles of electrodes was developed to improve the protoplast fusion efficiency (as determined by rate of formation of binuclear heterokaryons) in Citrus. The new electrode chamber was consistently more efficient than the commercial one. The improved features of the new electrode chamber, including longer electrode and greater sample volume (8 ml ) than those of a commercial chamber, should be very useful in increasing the fusion efficiency of species such as Citrus and its relatives, in which the isolation of viable protoplasts is relatively difficult.