F. Berger et C. Brownlee, PHYSIOLOGY AND DEVELOPMENT OF PROTOPLASTS OBTAINED FROM FUCUS EMBRYOSUSING LASER MICROSURGERY, Protoplasma, 186(1-2), 1995, pp. 63-71
Protoplasts from rhizoids of two-celled Fucus embryos were obtained us
ing laser microsurgery. They were characterised by a membrane potentia
l similar to that of a rhizoid cell in situ and a rapid regeneration o
f the cell wall. Nucleated subprotoplasts with regenerated cell wall w
ere capable of photopolarisation as zygotes. These pseudozygote develo
ped into miniature embryos similar to zygotic embryos. The nucleus app
eared to be necessary for pseudozygote polarisation but the transcript
ion inhibitor, actinomycin D, though preventing zygote polarisation, w
as inactive on pseudozygotes. A role for the nucleus as a geometric re
ference is discussed.