The protoplasts assay constitutes a powerful tool that allows an easy uptake of active agents and a precise quantification of cell death induction in different populations. Our study showed that the basal level of cell death in our controls is low and stable throughout the length of our experiments (Danon et al., 2005; Pineau et al., 2013). In addition, the data obtained from the protoplast assay are applicable to intact seedlings, where it is possible to see differences in the intensity of necrotic lesions (Danon et al., 2006) even if those differences are not as easily and clearly quantifiable as with the protoplast assay.
