Somatic fusion
（重定向自Protoplast fusion）
![Fused protoplast (left) with chloroplasts (from a leaf cell) and coloured vacuole (from a petal).](/Images/godic/202502/04/Protoplast_fusion0947.jpg")
Somatic fusion, also called protoplast fusion, is a type of genetic modification in plants by which two distinct species of plants are fused together to form a new hybrid plant with the characteristics of both, a somatic hybrid. Hybrids have been produced either between different varieties of the same species (e.g. between non-flowering potato plants and flowering potato plants) or between two different species (e.g. between wheat triticum and rye secale to produce Triticale).