Isolation of chloroplasts from plant protoplasts

Abstract

Chloroplasts can be isolated from higher plants directly following homogenization; however, the resulting yield, purity, and intactness are often low, necessitating a large amount of starting materials. This protocol is optimized to produce a high yield of pure chloroplasts from isolated Arabidopsis protoplasts. The two-part method is a simple, scaled-down, and low-cost procedure that readily provides healthy mesophyll protoplasts, which are then ruptured to release intact chloroplasts. Chloroplasts isolated using this method are competent for use in biochemical, cellular, and molecular analyses.