A simple, rapid and effective method for total RNA extraction from Lentinula edodes

A rapid, inexpensive and reliable method for total RNA extraction from fruiting bodies of Lentinula edodes containing large quantities of polysaccharides and secondary metabolites is described. An initial extraction step using saturated NaCl solution facilitates the separation of nucleic acids from contaminants and, after further extraction with organic solvents and precipitation with 2-propanol, total RNA of high purity and suitable for applications such as cDNA synthesis, RT-PCR and Northern blot hybridization was obtained. The procedure may also have wider applicability for total RNA extraction from the tissues of other mushrooms.     

The isolation of RNA from raspberry (Rubus idaeus) fruit

Previous attempts to extract high-quality, total RNA from raspberry (Rubus idaeus) fruits using published protocols have proven to be unsuccessful. Even the use of protocols developed for the extraction of RNA from other fruit tissue has resulted in low yields (1) or the isolation of degraded RNA (2). Here, we report on the development of a quick and simple method of extracting total RNA from raspberry fruit. Using this method, high yields of good quality, undegraded RNA were obtained from fruit at all stages of ripening. The RNA is of sufficient quality for northern analysis and cDNA library construction.     

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.     

An Efficient Method for the Extraction of High-Quality Fungal Total RNA to Study the <Emphasis Type="Italic">Mycosphaerella fijiensis</Emphasis>–<Emphasis Type="Italic">Musa</Emphasis> spp. Interaction

Efficient RNA isolation is a prerequisite for gene expression studies and it has an increasingly important role in the study of plant–fungal pathogen interactions. However, RNA isolation is difficult in filamentous fungi. These organisms are notorious for their rigid cell walls and the presence of high levels of carbohydrates, excreted from the fungal cells during submerged growth, which interferes with the extraction procedures. Although many commercial kits are already available for RNA isolation, they do not provide, in most cases, enough amount of pure RNA to be used in upstream applications. In the present work, we propose an easy and efficient protocol for isolating total RNA from the filamentous fungus Mycosphaerella fijiensis, the most important foliar pathogen of Musa spp. varieties worldwide. In addition, we applied the proposed protocol to the isolation of total RNA from banana leaves infected with the pathogen. Our methodology was developed based on the SDS method with modifications including a carbohydrate precipitation step. The protocol resulted in high-quality total RNA, from fungal mycelium grown in PDB medium and infected banana leaves, suitable for further molecular studies. The proposed methodology is also applicable to the ascomycete fungus Passalora fulva (syn. Cladosporum fulvum). Aminael Sánchez-Rodríguez and Orelvis Portal contributed equally to the article.     

Improved protocol for high-quality Co-extraction of DNA and RNA from rumen digesta

We report an improved method for total nucleic acids extraction from rumen content samples. The method employs bead beating, and phenol-chloroform extraction followed by saline-alcohol precipitation. Total nucleic acids and RNA yield and purity were assessed by spectrophotometric measurements; RNA integrity was estimated using Agilent RNA 6000 Nano Kit on an Agilent 2100 Bioanalyzer. The method provided total nucleic acids and RNA extracts of good quantity and quality. The extraction is not time consuming and it is valuable for ecological studies of rumen microbial community structure and gene expression.     

Elimination of oxalate contamination in RNA isolation from<Emphasis Type="Italic">Rumex obtusifolius</Emphasis>

Many plant RNA isolation techniques aim to prevent contamination by means of secondary phenolics, carbohydrates, RNase, and other chemicals. However, when applied in our laboratory to the isolation of RNA fromRumex obtusifolius, these protocols failed to produce good quality RNA. A major problem was contamination of the RNA samples with the secondary metabolite oxalate. The relative quantities of guanidine isothiocyanate extraction buffer to plant tissue used in the protocol had significant effects on oxalate contamination. An increase in extraction buffer, from 1.5 mL in the original method to 15 mL per 200–300 mg of tissue in our protocol, removed the oxalate from the RNA. This RNA was of a good quality and was suitable for molecular biology applications.     

A reliable method for extraction of RNA from various conifer tissues

Summary A simple and efficient procedure suitable for extraction of high-quality RNA from cultured conifer tissues, somatic embryos, zygotic embryos, needles, stem and root tissues was developed. It produced from 100 g up to 700 g total RNA per gram tissue dependent on the types of tissues used. RNA quality was estimated by spectrophotometry, agarose gel electrophoresis, in vitro translation of mRNA, cDNA synthesis and Northern blot analysis. The method also worked well with Arabidopsis thaliana and tobacco tissues.Abbreviations CTAB cetyltrimethylammonium bromide - DEPC diethylpyrocarbonate - PVP polyvinylpyrrolidone - SDS-PAGE sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis     

Extraction of RNA from tissues containing high levels of procyanidins that bind RNA

Commonly used methods for extraction of RNA from plants are not effective for isolation of high quality RNA from the pigmented seed coats of soybeans that produce procyanidins (tannins) during seed coat development. We demonstrate a significant modification of the phenol-LiCl method that yields high quality RNA from a black seed coat variety. In this method, seed coat material was ground in a buffer containing a high concentration of bovine serum albumin (100 mg BSA/50 mg of lyophilized seed coats) to competitively inhibit proanthocyanidin binding. The presence of hydrated insoluble polyvinylpoly-pyrrolidone (PVPP) was also necessary to bind proanthocyanidins and remove them from solution. Proteinase K was added to digest the remaining BSA, and phenol extraction was used to remove both the proteins and small molecular weight complexes formed by BSA and proanthocyanidins. After LiCl and ethanol precipitations, the RNA quality was examined by UV absorbance spectra, gel electrophoresis, and hybridization. Using this method, good quality RNA can be extracted from pigmented seed coats of soybean varieties that are homozygous for the recessivei allele and also contain the dominantT gene that results in production of procyanidins in the seed coat. The method is also effective for tissues from other plant species that contain abundant polyphenolic compounds.     

An improved method for isolating RNA from dehydrated and nondehydrated chili pepper (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Capsicum annuum</Emphasis> L.) plant tissues

High-quality RNA is important in studying gene expression. This report describes an improved method for isolating intact purified RNA from dehydrated organs of chili pepper plants. Common RNA extraction protocols have produced poor yields because dehydrated leaves accumulate polysaccharides and RNases. Our protocol is based on a guanidine thiocyanate extraction combined with additional purification steps using butanol and the ionic detergent CTAB (cetyltrimethylammonium bromide). Using this protocol, RNA yields ranged from 40–70 μg of total RNA per 200 mg of fresh tissue. This method can be adapted to large-scale isolations, allowing the recovery of larger amounts of intact RNA (up to 250 μg per gram of fresh tissue).     

Extraction of total RNA from a high pigment content plant

The Mexican marigold (Tagetes erecta) produces inflorescences of intense yellow color that contain high levels of xanthophylls, particularly lutein, which makes it a suitable model for the study of carotenoid biosynthesis and regulation throughout the development of the inflorescences. However, these studies require the recovery of total RNA from floral buds and inflorescences at different developmental stages, each of which presents specific extraction problems. Four protocols were tested, but only through the modification of one of them was it possible to obtain total RNA of sufficient quality and quantity to perform RT-PCR and Northern blots and to construct a cDNA library. This article presents the modified protocol for the recovery of total RNA from carotenoid-rich plant tissues.     

蚜虫中携带马铃薯卷叶病毒检测方法的改进

马铃薯卷叶病毒( Potato leafroll virus,PLRV)对马铃薯生产的危害极大,是一种极为重要的马铃薯病毒病。 RT－PCR是马铃薯卷叶病毒检测较为常用的方法,该方法检测准确率高、成本低、适用范围广。但在实际生产中其检测对象多为染病植株,对PLRV传播的主要介体桃蚜( Myzus persicae)的检测,则由于蚜虫体积小、RNA提取难度大、成本高、且不能复检,因而在生产中不能被广泛使用。该研究以马铃薯感病植株和带毒蚜虫为材料,利用改进的RNA提取方法从它们中提取到PLRV的RNA,并以CP 基因设计特异性引物,进行PCR检测。结果表明：该方法提取的RNA完整性好,可用于蚜虫中PLRV检测,且同样适用于对马铃薯感病植株的检测。另外,通过对田间有翅蚜和无翅蚜携带 PLRV 情况进行检测发现,无翅蚜 PLRV 检出率为100％,有翅蚜PLRV检出率也高达60％,证明该体系在生产中的实用性。该研究使用改进的RNA提取方法,提取蚜虫中RNA,并利用RT－PCR进行了PLRV检测,与以前的方法相比简单实用,可被应用于生产检测中。该研究结果为马铃薯生产中PLRV的防控提供了一种新的手段。     

A rapid and effective method of extracting fully intact RNA from thermophilic geobacilli that is suitable for gene expression analysis

Extraction of intact RNA is essential for quantitative gene expression analysis. Isolating high quality RNA from gram-positive bacteria is known to be problematic particularly from organisms that have optimal growth temperatures greater than 45 °C. We report a novel extraction protocol for the rapid isolation of fully intact RNA from thermophilic Geobacillus thermoleovorans using a lysing matrix containing a mixture of ceramic and glass beads, triisopropylnaphthalene sulfonic acid (TNS), and p-4-aminosalicyclic acid (PAS). Combining both detergents, TNS and PAS, appeared to increase denaturation of RNases at thermophilic temperatures. Gel electrophoresis revealed that only RNA isolated using the TNS-PAS procedure demonstrated sharp, undegraded 23S, 16S, and 5S ribosomal RNA bands. RNA extracted from geobacilli using commercially available kits was extensively degraded and was not suitable for detecting gene expression. Total RNA yields extracted with the TNS-PAS protocol were greater than eightfold higher than those obtained with available kits. Critically, it was also shown that only RNA isolated with the TNS-PAS-based method was suitable for monitoring thermophile gene expression patterns using RT-PCR analysis.Communicated by G. Antranikian     

Extraction of ribosomal RNA from soil for detection of Frankia with oligonucleotide probes

Sequences of 16S rRNA of the nitrogen-fixing Frankia strain Ag45/Mut15 and the ineffective Frankia strain AgB1.9 were used to design a genus-specific oligonucleotide probe. Hybridization experiments of this Frankia probe and a second probe, specific for Nif⁺-Frankia strains only, were used to detect Frankia specific target sequences in RNA isolations from soil. A method is described for direct isolation of RNA from a loamy soil and a peat. Yields of about 10 ng RNA/g wet soil are obtained without detectable contamination with humic acids. Isolation of RNA after initial extraction of bacteria from soil resulted in significantly lower RNA yields, compared to the direct isolation procedure. Hybridization with both probes against rRNA isolations from Frankia-containing soil could detect target sequences within RNA isolations from 1 g wet soil with an estimated detection limit of 10⁴ cells.     

A rapid procedure for the construction of PCR cDNA libraries from small amounts of plant tissue

We describe a general method for the preparation of λZAP II cDNA libraries from very small amounts (<50 mg) of plant tissue. We have achieved this by combining an efficient method for RNA extraction with a modified PCR protocol for the synthesis and amplification of cDNA. Using this protocol we have found it possible to generate cDNA libraries containing more than 10⁶ clones from as little as 1 μg of total RNA.     

Total RNA isolation from<Emphasis Type="Italic">Picea mariana</Emphasis> dry seed

Isolating RNA from dry conifer seeds can be difficult because of a number of interfering compounds present in seeds. We describe a protocol for total RNA isolation from black spruce dry seeds, which is an adaptation of a method used for mouse myeloma tissues. The extraction relies on selective precipitation of RNA by using lithium chloride.