Protoplast Isolation from Lichen Mycobionts

Molecular biology has advanced remarkably, and gene transformation is now possible in many bacteria, yeasts, plants and animals. Biotechnological methods such as cell fusion have been so improved that it is now easy to establish cell hybrids. It is expected that such techniques will be applied to lichens in the near future. However, there remain barriers for applying these techniques, and one of them is protoplast isolation. There are two reports of protoplast isolation from lichen mycobionts (Ahmadjian et al., 1987; Kinoshita et al., 1991). The procedure outlined here is derived from these results.