Patent ID: 7247768

Claim:
A method of making a plant artificial chromosome, comprising: (a) preparing recombinant protoplasts of a first plant species containing an exogenous nucleic acid, wherein said exogenous nucleic acid comprises at least one restriction site, and at least one recombination site recognized by a site specific recombinase; (b) irradiating the protoplasts of (a), thus producing chromosome fragments of chromosomes contained in the recombinant protoplasts; (c) fusing the recombinant protoplasts of (b) with protoplasts of a second plant species to produce fused protoplasts, wherein the first and second plant species may be the same or different; and (d) identifying fused protoplasts of (c) or cells derived from the fused protoplasts of (c) that contain chromosome fragments containing the exogenous nucleic acid, and that exhibit normal plant chromosomal activities.