JAPAN. J. GENETICS Vol. 50, No. 5: 417-420 (1975) SHORT COMMUNICATION CULTURE OF PROTOPLASTS FROM CHIMERAL PLANT TISSUE OF NATURE

There are many chimeral plants induced by somatic cell mutation in nature. It can be expected that protoplasts from somatic cell mutants of chimeral plants are useful materials for plant breeding and genetics, because various mutant plants could be obtained from mutant cells. This investigation was initiated to determine if s'n vitro protoplast curtures could be utilized to obtain mutant plants from cells of chimeral tissues and to study the interaction between normal cells and mutant cells. In the experiment, leaf protoplasts of variegated geranium, chlorophyll deficiency of the leaf margin (Fig. 1), were cultured in order to clarify what type of plants could be induced from cells of normal green and mutant white parts in the leaf.