A Novel Method to Archive Plant Material for DNA Analysis

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Author:

Anne Marie White, Kathleen A. Nolan, LaToya Roberts, Theodore Gurney

Subject:

Science and Technology

Institution Name:

St. Francis College|University of Utah

Collection:

Association for Biology Laboratory Education (ABLE)

Grade Level:

Post-secondary

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.

Course Type:

Learning Module

Languages:

English

Material Type:

Activities and Labs, Lesson Plans

Media Format:

Downloadable docs

Conditions of Use:

Custom Permissions
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner. Use solely at one's own institution with no intent for profit is excluded from the preceding copyright restriction, unless otherwise noted on the copyright notice of the individual chapter in this volume. Proper credit to this publication must be included in your laboratory outline for each use; a sample citation is given [on the copyright page of each volume]. Upon obtaining permission or with the "sole use at one's own institution" exclusion, ABLE strongly encourages individuals to use the exercises in this proceedings volume in their teaching program.