Direct PCR amplification and sequencing of specimens' DNA from preservative ethanol

作者：Shokralla Shadi; Singer Gregory A C; Hajibabaei Mehrdad^*

来源：Biotechniques, 2010, 48(3): 233-234.

DOI：10.2144/000113362

• DNA extraction
• sample preparation
• biodiversity
• DNA barcoding
• museum samples

DNA extraction is the first step in many molecular biology protocols. However, we hypothesized that DNA from a preserved specimen can leak into its preservative medium, allowing the medium itself to be directly PCR-amplified. We successfully tested this idea on mescal-the alcoholic beverage famous for the "worm" (a caterpillar) that is placed in the bottle of many brands-and indeed obtained amplifiable quantities of caterpillar DNA. We then successfully amplified and sequenced DNA from the 95% ethanol preservative of 70 freshly collected specimens and 7 archival specimens 7-10 years old. These results suggest that DNA extraction is a superfluous step in many protocols and that preservative ethanol can be used as a source of genetic material for non-invasive sampling or when no tissue specimen is left for further DNA analyses.

• 出版日期2010-3