Cell Wall Regeneration Around Protoplasts Isolated from Convolvulus Tissue Culture

Protoplasts of Convolvulus arvensis L. tissue culture regenerated a wall-like structure within 3 days in culture. Although unusually electron dense and atypically amorphous in the electron microscope, this structure could be digested with Myrothecium cellulase but was resistant to protease, a Rohm and Haas pectinase, and a beta-1, 3-exoglucanase just like the original wall. A cytochemical test for callose was negative. Wall regeneration required a readily metabolized external carbon source and was not inhibited by a high concentration of cycloheximide, puromycin, or actinomycin D. Protoplast budding was correlated with the wall regeneration, and the latter was related quantitatively to the sucrose concentration in the medium. Although a concentration of 1 mum 2,4-dichlorophenoxy acetic acid is used normally for both general culture of the tissue and for wall regeneration, concentrations of 0 and 0.1 mm, which are highly deleterious to growth, have no appreciable effect on the incidence of the wall-like structure regenerated around protoplasts. The ability of protoplasts to undergo cell wall regeneration was decreased when they were cultured in the presence of proteolytic enzymes.