Abstract
Auxotrophic cells of the filamentous cyanobacterium Anabaena variabilis Kütz. were introduced into protoplasts of Nicotiana tabacum L. in an attempt to engineer a nitrogen-fixing endosymbiosis. Conditions were established to maximize uptake of the cyanobacteria by use of polyethylene glycol. Culture of the novel association was not successful: tobacco protoplasts with Anabaena inside did not appear to divide. Most of the protoplasts expelled the cyanobacteria and simultaneously disintegrated. The reasons for the incompatibility are not known.
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Meeks, J.C., Malmberg, R.L. & Wolk, C.P. Uptake of auxotrophic cells of a heterocyst-forming cyanobacterium by tobacco protoplasts, and the fate of their associations. Planta 139, 55–60 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00390810
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00390810