OPTIMIZING CONDITIONS FOR TOBACCO BY-2 CELL-CYCLE SYNCHRONIZATION - RAPID COMMUNICATION

Tobacco BY-2 cells have become. a major tool in plant cell biological research, in part due to the availability of a cell cycle synchronizat ion protocol. This method, pioneered by Nagata and coworkers, involves sequential treatments with aphidicolin (a DNA synthesis inhibitor) an d propyzamide (a microtubule inhibitor which arrests mitosis). The eff ects of these inhibitors are reversible, allowing the cell culture to progress into M phase synchronously. However, attempts to reproduce hi gh levels of synchrony with published protocols have not been uniforml y successful. This paper describes critical parameters for cell cycle synchronization and documents the kinetics and variation typically fou nd in using this protocol.