A Novel Method to Archive Plant Material for DNA Analysis

 

Kathleen A. Nolan, Theodore Gurney, Jr., LaToya Roberts and Ann Marie White

Tested Studies in Laboratory Teaching, 2002, Volume 23

Abstract

In this exercise, students isolate and analyze DNA from food plants in a supermarket, or from common backyard plants. Extracting plant DNA is often difficult using conventional means because undesirable material including PCR inhibitors often co-purifies with the DNA. The novel approach used in this exercise is simple and quick, and also avoids the use of dangerous organic reagents. Students crush plant material (spinach leaves in this exercise) onto special cards originally used to archive blood samples. Then they cut small pieces of the cards to treat with reagents to isolate the spinach DNA for PCR. Other methods of archiving and isolating DNA from plant material are discussed, and applications for the method are also considered.

Keywords:  PCR, DNA, polymerase chain reaction

University of Chicago (2001)