ABSTRACT
This chapter briefly summarizes achievements from the field of yeast protoplast fusion and discusses some of the most recent findings. The fusion was induced by centrifugation and was controlled by employing auxotrophic mutants. Nutritional complementation via heterokaryon formation was the main indication of protoplast fusion. A number of methodological papers have described the basic procedures of fungal protoplast fusion, and the selection and analysis of the fusion products. One of the great merits of true interspecific and “interspecific” protoplast fusion studies is that they shed light on genetic—taxonomic relationships. The cytological phenomenon of the spontaneous fusion of wall-deprived yeast cells was discovered almost two decades ago. When induced and controlled, such fusion can be made a powerful tool not only in basic classical and molecular genetics, but also in such applied fields as strain improvement, for the production of compounds natural and “unnatural” to yeasts.
