A Modified Protocol for RNA Isolation from High Polysaccharide Containing Cupressus arizonica Pollen. Applications for RT–PCR and Phage Display Library Construction

RNA isolation is the first step in the study of gene expression and recombinant protein production. However, the isolation of high quantity and high-quality RNA from tissues containing large amounts of polysaccharides has proven to be a difficult process. Cupressus arizonica pollen, in addition to containing high polysaccharide levels, is a challenging starting material for RNA isolation due to the roughness of the pollen grain’s walls. Here, we describe an improved technique for RNA isolation from C. arizonica pollen grains. The protocol includes a special disruption and homogenization process as well as a two-step modified RNA isolation technique which consists of an acid phenol extraction followed by a final cleanup using a commercial kit. Resulting RNA proved to be free of contaminants as determined by UV spectrophotometry. The quality of the RNA was analyzed on a bioanalyzer and showed visible 25S and 18S bands. This RNA was successfully used in downstream applications such as RT–PCR and phage display library construction.     

Extraction of High Quality of RNA and Construction of a Suppression Subtractive Hybridization (SSH) Library from Chestnut Rose (Rosa roxburghii Tratt)

Chestnut rose (Rosa roxburghii Tratt) is a rare fruit crop of promising economical importance in fruit and ornamental exploitation in China. Isolation of high quality RNA from chestnut rose is difficult due to its high levels of polyphenols, polysaccharides and other compounds, but a modified CTAB extraction procedure without phenol gave satisfactory results. High concentrations of PVP (2%, w/v), CTAB (2%, w/v) and β-mercaptoethanol (4%, v/v) were used in the extraction buffer to improve RNA quality. The average yield was about 200 μg RNA g⁻¹ fresh leaves. The isolated RNA was of sufficient quality for construction of suppression subtraction hybridization (SSH) library, which allowed the isolation of several pathogen-induced defense genes. Qiang Xu and Xiaopeng Wen - Contribute to this work equally Revisions requested 3 November 2005; Revisions received 18 January 2006     

Modification of a CTAB DNA extraction protocol for plants containing high polysaccharide and polyphenol components

A relatively quick, inexpensive and consistent protocol for extraction of DNA from expanded leaf material containing large quantities of polyphenols, tannins and polysaccharides is described. Mature strawberry leaves, which contain high levels of these secondary components, were used as a study group. The method involves a modified CTAB extraction, employing high salt concentrations to remove polysaccharides, the use of polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) to remove polyphenols, an extended RNase treatment and a phenol-chloroform extraction. Average yields range from 20 to 84 μg/g mature leaf tissue for both wild and cultivated octoploid and diploidFragaria species. Results from 60 plants were examined, and were consistently amplifiable in the RAPD reaction with as little as 0.5 ng DNA per 25-μL reaction. Presently, this is the first procedure for the isolation of DNA from mature strawberry leaf tissue that produces consistent results for a variety of different species, both octoploid and diploid, and is both stable and PCR amplifiable before and after extended storage. This procedure may prove useful for other difficult species in the family Rosaceae.     

A method for isolating total RNA from pear leaves

Isolation of high quality RNA fromRosaceae species is particularly difficult. These plants contain considerable amounts of plant polyphenolic compounds and polysaccharides that copurify with RNA, often rendering it unsuitable for either cDNA synthesis and/or hybridization in northern analyses. We describe a method for RNA isolation from pear leaves that is modified from that of Manning (1990). The procedure includes i) an extraction with phenol and PVPP, to remove proteins and polyphenols ii) two purifications by LiCl, with a 2-butoxyethanol treatment between the LiCl steps. The method results in high quality RNA suitable for RT-PCR and northern blot experiments.     

Isolation and purification of functional total RNA from blue-grained wheat endosperm tissues containing high levels of starches and flavonoids

Isolation of intact, functional total RNA from blue-grained wheat endosperms containing high levels of starches, polysaccharides, and flavonoids was extremely difficult using traditional methods. We describe here a modified SDS/phenol method that can be used to isolate total RNA from blue-grained wheat endosperms. This method solved the problems of RNA degradation, contamination, and low yield due to binding and/or co-precipitation with starches, polysaccharides, and flavonoids. The isolated total RNA was of high quality and undegraded as determined by spectrophotometric readings and denaturing agarose gel analysis. Quality of the total RNA isolated using our protocol was further assessed by RT-PCR and northern blot hybridization. Using this efficient procedure, 350–400 μg of total RNA was routinely obtained from 1 g of blue-grained wheat seeds.     

ISOLATION OF HIGH-QUALITY RNA FROM GRAINS OF DIFFERENT MAIZE VARIETIES

The study of gene expression in maize varieties represents a powerful tool aiming to increase vitamin A precursors. However, the isolation of RNA from different maize varieties is challenging because these varieties show different levels of polysaccharides, and most methods available for RNA isolation are inappropriate for grain samples. The polysaccharides co-purify and co-precipitate with RNA during isolation, resulting in low-quality RNA, compromising the use of RNA in subsequent applications. Thus, a cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB)-based method was adapted in this study and compared with six methods for RNA isolation, including commercial reagents and RNA and DNA isolation kits, in order to identify the most appropriate for maize grains from different varieties. Most of the methods evaluated were considered inadequate due to limitations in terms of purity and/or quantity of the isolated RNA, which affected the efficiency of subsequent RT-qPCR analysis, resulting in nonamplification of β-carotene hydroxylase gene (HYD3) or high deviation among replicates. However, the CTAB modified method allowed the study to obtain intact RNA, with high quality and quantity, from 25 maize varieties. Furthermore, this RNA was successfully used to evaluate the expression of HYD3 gene by real-time qualitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), and thus represents a simple, efficient, and low-cost strategy.     

Isolation of RNA from polysaccharide-rich seeds

Commonly, RNA isolation is the initial step in the study of gene expression analysis and also in the utilization of genes for genetic improvement. However, the recovery of large amounts of RNA with high quality is a difficult process, especially in tissues containing enhanced levels of polysaccharides and other secondary metabolites. Since several procedures for RNA isolation from polysaccharides rich plant tissues have been resulting in poor yields, an effective new protocol is essential for RNA isolation and further analysis. Here, we describe a novel modified technique for isolating total RNA from maturing grains. As a model, we utilized little finger millets, important food staples, which correspond to short duration crops cultivated in varied agro climatic conditions. After isolation, the total RNA was resolved on a denaturing agarose gel, showing more sharp bands of 28S, 18S, and 5S with no degradation. Therefore, the RNA concentration (higher than 1.80) was calculated by spectrophotometry, indicating that RNA is concentrated. Finally, RT-PCR and Northern hybridization confirmed high RNA quality.     

An Improved Protocol for the Isolation of RNA from Roots of Tea (Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze)

Tea, a beverage crop, is a rich source of polyphenols and polysaccharides which greatly attribute to its importance. However, oxidation and precipitation of these compounds during nucleic acids extraction is a limitation to molecular biology and genomic studies. On isolation of total RNA from root tissue using established protocols, difficulties were encountered in terms of purity and quantity of isolated RNA or some of the methods were time-consuming and also yields were low. The present communication combines a phenol-based RNA isolation protocol with a cetyltrimethylammonium bromide-based procedure with appropriate modifications. This protocol successfully isolated RNA from tap root tissue in 2-3 h as compared with 16 h reported by the previous method. Also, RNA yield was higher by more than fourfold. The RNA isolated by this protocol was successfully used for downstream applications such as RT-PCR and the construction of suppression subtractive hybridization library. The developed protocol worked well with other plant tissue with high polyphenols and polysaccharides contents.     

A simple protocol for isolating genomic DNA from chestnut rose (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Rosa roxburghii</Emphasis> tratt) for RFLP and PCR analyses

Isolation of high-quality DNA from rosaceous species is particularly difficult because of their high levels of polyphenols, polysaccharides, and other compounds. The yields and quality of genomic DNA are considerably affected when the common protocol for DNA isolation is applied to the chestnut rose (Rosa roxburghii Tratt). A simple, rapid, and efficient protocol for the extraction of DNA from the chestnut rose is described. The modified hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) procedure, which uses phenol-absent extraction to enhance the yield, involves a washing step before extraction for the removal of organic molecules and excessive water; the use of high concentrations of polyvinylpyrrolidone (2% [w/v]), CTAB (3% [w/v]), and β-mercaptoethanol (3% [v/v]) in the high-salt-concentration extraction buffer to remove polyphenols and polysaccharides; and the combined use of potassium acetate and chloroform to remove proteins and polysaccharides. Finally, DNA is precipitated with an equal volume of isopropanol and 0.1 vol of sodium acetate. This protocol results in high yields of DNA. The average yield of DNA ranged from 980–1800 μg/g of fresh weight of leaves. Downstream results indicate that DNA quality is sufficient for restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analyses.     

Optimisation of RNA extraction from Gracilaria changii (Gracilariales, Rhodophyta)

RNA extraction from seaweed tissues is problematic due to the presence of polysaccharides and polyphenolic compounds upon cell disruption. Besides, a successful RNA isolation from seaweed tissues can sometimes be strain- and species-specific. Four different methods were used to extract RNA from Gracilaria changii (Gracilariales, Rhodophyta), collected from the mangrove area at Morib, Selangor, Malaysia. An optimised and modified total RNA extraction method was developed for this recalcitrant species. The use of sand in tissue grinding, and the incorporation of phenol extraction at the initial stage resulted in the highest RNA yield (0.65–1.14 g g^–1 fresh weight) with high quality (A_260:280 ratio 1.80–2.05). The RNA obtained is suitable for cDNA synthesis and future functional genomic studies.     

A simple and efficient protocol for isolation of high quality functional RNA from different tissues of turmeric (Curcuma longa L.)

Many experiments in plant molecular biology require processing of a large number of RNA samples and in some cases large quantities are required for a single application. In turmeric, a major spice and medicinal plant, a protocol for RNA isolation is not available. The major difficulty encountered while using other popular protocols is the low yield and quality of RNA which hampers the downstream applications like qRT-PCR, cDNA synthesis and micro RNA isolation. Commercial kits though available are costly and were found to be unsuccessful in case of rhizomes and root tissues that are rich in polyphenols, polysaccharides and alkaloids. It was thus felt that a quick, handy and cheap protocol of total RNA isolation from different tissues of turmeric was required for day to day working in our lab. The new protocol utilizes SDS based extraction buffer including β-mercaptoethanol and PVP with sequential acid phenol:chloroform extraction to remove polyphenols and proteins, followed by the purification with sodium acetate to eliminate polysaccharides. The protocol is simple and can be completed in less than 3 h. The RNA yield from rhizome was higher by more than fivefold with both A_260/280 and A_260/230 ratio in the range of 1.8–2.0. The protocol worked well with leaf, rhizome, pseudostem and root tissues with RIN >7.0 and the isolated RNA could be successfully used for cDNA synthesis, RT-PCR, qRT-PCR and small RNA isolation including microRNA.     

A reliable and efficient method for total rna isolation from various members of spurge family (Euphorbiaceae)

Introduction – It is prerequisite and crucial to extract RNA with high quality and integrity in order to carry out molecular biology studies in any plant species of a family. Euphorbiaceae members are known for high levels of their waxes, oils with polysaccharides, polyphenolics and secondary metabolites. These conditions are recognised to interfere unfavourably with various methodologies of RNA isolation. Objective – To develop a simple, rapid and reproducible cetyltrimethylamonium bromide (CTAB)‐based protocol, to reduce the time and cost of extraction without reducing quality and yield of RNA extracted from various recalcitrant Euphorbiaceae member plant tissues such as from tree leaves (Hevea brasilensis), woody shrubs leaves (Ricinus communis, Jatropha curcas, Manihot esculenta) and storage root tissue (M. esculenta). Methodology – Simple modifications and fast steps were introduced to the original CTAB protocol. All centrifugation steps were carried out at 4°C at 12000 rpm for 10 min, the sample weight was decreased and usage of spermidine and LiCl was omitted, reducing incubation time prior to RNA precipitation. This rapid CTAB protocol was compared with various RNA isolation methods intended for use with plants rich in polysaccharides and secondary metabolites. Results – The procedure can be completed within 2 h and many samples can be processed at the same time. RNA of high quality could be isolated from all the tissues of species that we tried. The isolated RNA from different species served as a robust template for RT‐PCR analysis. Conclusion – The study has shown that the improvement of a CTAB‐based protocol allows the rapid isolation of high‐quality RNA from various recalcitrant Euphorbiaceae members. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A simple procedure for the isolation of high quality RNA from ripening banana fruit

Isolation of high quality RNA from ripening banana fruit tissue is difficult due to high levels of polysaccharides and other substances that interfere when using conventional procedures for RNA isolation. These substances not only decrease the yield but the quality of RNA is almost unusable. We describe here a simple RNA procedure that effectively removes these contaminating substances without affecting the yield. Following this procedure, we routinely obtained 80–150 μg of total RNA per g fresh tissue. The RNA is of good quality and suitable for northern analysis, RT-PCR and cDNA library construction. NBRI publication No. 488(NS).