PERFLUOROCHEMICALS AND PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY - AN IMPROVED PROTOCOL FORPROTOPLAST CULTURE AND PLANT-REGENERATION IN RICE (ORYZA-SATIVA L)

A novel approach is described for the culture of protoplasts isolated from cell suspensions of the Japonica rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivar Taipei 309 involving supplementation with an oxygenated perfluorochemi cal (PFC liquid, perfluorodecalin. Protoplasts cultured in the presenc e of oxygenated perfluorodecalin exhibited a 5-fold increase in mean p lating efficiency(P <0.01) compared to controls. This beneficial effec t was sustained throughout culture with a 12% increase (P <0.01) in sh oot regeneration efficiency, leading to intact plants with morphometri c characteristics similar to those of seed-derived individuals. Furthe r refinement of the system, involving 24-well culture plates, similarl y revealed a 7.5-fold increase in plating efficiency in response to PF C supplementation (P <0.01). The enhanced growth of protoplast-derived colonies was confirmed by image analysis assessments of the cultures, Overall, these results demonstrate a beneficial effect of supplementi ng rice protoplast culture systems with oxygenated perfluorochemical l iquid which will be of broader value in plant biotechnology.