Protoplasts from the Avena coleoptile.

Abstract

Peeled Avena coleoptiles, on exposure to a concentrated cellulase from Myrothecium, yield spherical protoplasts, showing vigorous cytoplasmic streaming. Each cell normally yields one such protoplast. The protoplasts burst when the external osmotic pressure is lowered, or when exposed to detergents or to ribonuclease. They are stable to proteolytic and lipolytic enzymes, however, alone or in combination, and thus a critical structural component may be RNA. They show no visible response to IAA.