The idea for the p~esent book arose from a 3-day seminar which I organized in March 1984 for young research workers in plant physiology. Participants came from several universities of the French-speaking part of Switzerland and speakers from Basel, Mtinchen, Nottingham, Perpignan, Regensburg, Sheffield, Toulouse, Yale, ZUrich ... and Lausannne. The theme of the seminar was chosen from the range of research fields of our Institute. Meanwhile, feeling it was important to bear in mind that some of our hearers were not specialists in the chosen topic, I wished to pro vide a subject that would be of scientific, methodological and epistemologi cal interest. The critical analysis of the structural and functional characteristics of plant protoplasts exactly met these criteria. There exists ample material for discussion of the techniques of protoplast preparation, methods used in morphological, biological and biochemical studies, and for the comparison of protoplasts with the cells from which they are obtained.

Inhalt
Introduction: The Use of Plant Protoplasts in Physiological Research (With 1 Figure).- Applications of Protoplast Technology.- Properties of Some Enzymes Used for Protoplast Isolation (With 3 Figures).- Isolation of Maize Protoplasts from the Root Cap and Apex (With 2 Figures).- Plant Protoplast Viability (With 2 Figures).- Isolation of Plasma Membrane from Ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum) Endosperm Protoplasts (With 2 Figures).- The Use of Protoplasts in the Study of Coated Vesicles (With 3 Figures).- Membrane Transport in Protoplasts (With 2 Figures).- The Binding of Anion Transport Inhibitors on the Plasmalemma Isolated from Corn Root Protoplasts (With 6 Figures).- Intracellular Transport of Metabolites in Protoplasts: Transport Between Cytosol and Vacuole (With 1 Figure).- Compartmentation of Metabolite Pools in Protoplasts: Chloroplasts, Mitochondria, Cytosol/Vacuole (With 1 Figure).- Protoplast Evacuolation (With 2 Figures).- Protoplasts in Studies of Vacuolar Storage Compounds (With 9 Figures).- Distribution of Saccharides Between Cytoplasm and Vacuole in Protoplasts (With 3 Figures).- Anthocyanin Containing Vacuoles Isolated from Protoplasts of Daucus carota Cell Cultures (With 1 Figure).- Vacuolar pH Variability in a Protoplast Population (With 4 Figures).- Mitotic Cycle of Mesophyll Protoplasts (With 2 Figures).- The Use of Guard Cell Protoplasts to Study Stomatal Physiology (With 6 Figures).- Regulation of Volume Changes in Guard Cell Protoplasts (With 3 Figures).- Wall Regeneration in Protoplasts of Higher Plants (With 3 Figures).- Glucan Synthases and Cell-Wall Regeneration in Fungal Protoplasts (With 3 Figures).- Fatty Acids in Protoplasts (With 3 Figures).- Proline in Protoplasts: The Chemical Potential of Proline and Stress Sensitivity of Cells (With 2 Figures).- The Biosynthesis and Catabolism of Indole-3-Acetic Acid in Protoplasts (With 3 Figures).- Auxin Receptors in Tobacco Leaf Protoplasts (With 3 Figures).- Some Physiological Properties of Protoplasts from Gravireacting Maize Roots (With 2 Figures).- Protoplasts and Gravireactivity (With 6 Figures).- Proton Extrusion in Protoplasts: Fusicoccin and Cytokinin Effects.- Protoplast Growth and Photoregulation (With 1 Figure).- Photorespiratory Metabolism in Protoplasts (With 3 Figures).