Editing Protoplast (section)

{{Short description|Cell stripped of cell-wall}}
{{for|mythological progenitors of humanity|Protoplast (religion)}}
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[[File:Protoplasts Petunia sp.jpg|thumb|right|Protoplasts of cells from a petunia's leaf]]
[[File:Physcomitrella protoplasts.jpg|thumb|Protoplasts of the moss ''[[Physcomitrella patens]]'']]
'''Protoplast''' ({{etymology|grc|''{{wikt-lang|grc|πρωτόπλαστος}}'' ({{grc-transl|πρωτόπλαστος}})|first-formed}}), is a [[biology|biological]] term coined by [[Johannes von Hanstein|Hanstein]] in 1880 to refer to the entire cell, excluding the cell wall.<ref>{{cite book | vauthors = von Hanstein JL | title = Das Protoplasma als Träger der pflanzlichen und thierischen Lebensverrichtungen für Laien und Fachgenossen. | publisher = Selbstverlag | location = Heidelberg | date = 1880 | url = https://archive.org/details/DasProtoplasma }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | vauthors = Sharp LW | title = An introduction to cytology. | location = New York | publisher = McGraw-Hill book Company, Incorporated | date = 1921 | url = https://archive.org/details/introductiontocy032473mbp | page = 24 }}</ref>  Protoplasts can be generated by stripping the [[cell wall]] from [[plant]],<ref name="Davey-2005" /> [[bacterium|bacterial]],<ref name="Lamb, AJ-2016" /><ref name="www.encyclopedia.com-2016" /> or [[fungus|fungal]] cells<ref name="www.encyclopedia.com-2016" /><ref name="Hoondal, GS-2006" /> by mechanical, chemical or enzymatic means.

Protoplasts differ from [[spheroplasts]] in that their cell wall has been completely removed.<ref name="Lamb, AJ-2016">{{cite journal | vauthors = Cushnie TP, O'Driscoll NH, Lamb AJ | title = Morphological and ultrastructural changes in bacterial cells as an indicator of antibacterial mechanism of action | journal = Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences | volume = 73 | issue = 23 | pages = 4471–4492 | date = December 2016 | pmid = 27392605 | pmc = 11108400 | doi = 10.1007/s00018-016-2302-2 | hdl-access = free | s2cid = 2065821 | hdl = 10059/2129 }}</ref><ref name="www.encyclopedia.com-2016">{{cite web |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/science/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/protoplasts-and-spheroplasts |title=Protoplasts and spheroplasts |publisher=Encyclopedia.com |date=2016 |website=www.encyclopedia.com |access-date=July 21, 2019}}</ref> Spheroplasts retain part of their cell wall.<ref name="www.merriam-webster.com-2019">{{cite web |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spheroplast |title=Definition of spheroplast |publisher=Merriam-Webster |date=2019 |website=www.merriam-webster.com |access-date=July 21, 2019}}</ref> In the case of [[Gram-negative bacteria]]l spheroplasts, for example, the [[peptidoglycan]] component of the cell wall has been removed but the [[bacterial outer membrane|outer membrane]] component has not.<ref name="Lamb, AJ-2016" /><ref name="www.encyclopedia.com-2016" />