Protoplast

Protoplasts of cells from a petunia's leaf
Protoplasts of the moss Physcomitrella patens

Protoplast (from Ancient Greek πρωτόπλαστος (prōtóplastos) 'first-formed'), is a biological term coined by Hanstein in 1880 to refer to the entire cell, excluding the cell wall.[1][2] Protoplasts can be generated by stripping the cell wall from plant,[3] bacterial,[4][5] or fungal cells[5][6] by mechanical, chemical or enzymatic means.

Protoplasts differ from spheroplasts in that their cell wall has been completely removed.[4][5] Spheroplasts retain part of their cell wall.[7] In the case of Gram-negative bacterial spheroplasts, for example, the peptidoglycan component of the cell wall has been removed but the outer membrane component has not.[4][5]

  1. ^ von Hanstein JL (1880). Das Protoplasma als Träger der pflanzlichen und thierischen Lebensverrichtungen für Laien und Fachgenossen. Heidelberg: Selbstverlag.
  2. ^ Sharp LW (1921). An introduction to cytology. New York: McGraw-Hill book Company, Incorporated. p. 24.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Davey-2005 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b c Cushnie TP, O'Driscoll NH, Lamb AJ (December 2016). "Morphological and ultrastructural changes in bacterial cells as an indicator of antibacterial mechanism of action". Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences. 73 (23): 4471–4492. doi:10.1007/s00018-016-2302-2. hdl:10059/2129. PMC 11108400. PMID 27392605. S2CID 2065821.
  5. ^ a b c d "Protoplasts and spheroplasts". www.encyclopedia.com. Encyclopedia.com. 2016. Retrieved July 21, 2019.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Hoondal, GS-2006 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "Definition of spheroplast". www.merriam-webster.com. Merriam-Webster. 2019. Retrieved July 21, 2019.

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