LAUSR

Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) production is severely hampered due to several pests and diseases. Biotechnological tools such as protoplast fusion appear as an alternative to ensure rapid genetic improvement and multiplication of this species. However, establishment of an effective system of plant regeneration from protoplasts culture is a prerequisite for date palm somatic hybridization. In this chapter, we describe an effective protocol to induce microcalli in protoplasts isolated from nodular callus of important Algerian date palm cultivars. In this protocol, the main factors influencing the isolation (i.e., enzymatic solution, mannitol concentration, duration, and mode of maceration) of protoplasts from the calli of Algerian date palm cultivars were optimized. Purified protoplasts were cultured on a semisolid medium supplemented with a hormonal balance of auxin and cytokinin to obtain microcalli formation.