Isolation of Plant Organelles and Structures

The isolation of plant organelles and subcellular structures has been the aim of plant scientists for some time. Sam Granick’s pioneering work in the late 1930s isolated the first subcellular plant bodies and aimed to “isolate chloroplasts in as normal a state and with as little contamination as possible”[1], an aim that many also aspire to today when isolating a range of organelles or subcellular structures of interest. In addition he “hoped that the quantitative isolation of chloroplasts will open up a new and more fruitful field of investigation, not only on the composition, structure and metabolism of these bodies, but also the mechanism of photosynthesis” [1]. The methods presented here were developed and refined with similar goals in mind, in that by being able to isolate sub-cellular structures the research and understanding of various facets of compartmentalized function in plant cells would be advanced. This book aims to bring together the major techniques used in the isolation or enrichment of individual populations of organelles and other subcellular structures from plants. An expert in the isolation of each particular cellular component has composed each chapter and they have provided a step-by-step procedure aimed at researchers from all fields of plant science. It should suit those who regularly isolate subcellular components as well as those whose research has lead them to focus on a subcellular compartment or a particular process for the first time and they need to be able to isolate it or enrich it for study.


1. Granick, S (1938) Isolation of chloroplasts from higher plants. American Journal of Botany 25: 558-561