Aprotoplast is a single cell without cell wall and only has plasma membrane to protect the cell. This property helps the protoplast to easily take up foreign macromolecules such as DNA and has been used since 1974 for transient and stable transformation of many plant species. Protoplast transient gene expression system is well-known as an easy, rapid, safe and efficient system, particularly via polyethylene glycol (PEG)-mediated transformation. Even though the transient gene expression system utilising tobacco and Arabidopsis protoplasts could be adopted for oil palm, these heterologous systems may exhibit aberrant results. For example, the oil palm mesocarp-specific promoter-driven reporter genes, β-glucuronidase (GUS) and green fluorescent protein (GFP), introduced into Arabidopsis plants have been shown to be expressed in the leaf even though the promoter was reported to be specific to the mesocarp tissue (Zubaidah and Siti Nor Akmar, 2013). Meanwhile, the PIPP (a chimeric antibody against human chorionic gonadotropin; hCG) gene under the control of an oil palm kernelspecific promoter was expressed in tobacco protoplasts isolated from leaf tissue (Masani, 2013). Although protoplast isolation from oil palm callus has been reported before (Sambanthamurthi et al., 1996), only recently a successful protocol for the regeneration of oil palm plants from protoplasts originating from cell suspension cultures, has been developed (Masani et al., 2013). In addition, the first successful protocol for the transformation of oil palm protoplasts by PEG-mediated transfection has also been established (Masani et al., 2014). The protocol subsequently provides an extraordinarily valuable tool for oil palm gene functional analysis.

Main Research: Dr Abdul Masani Mat Yunus