| Abstract: | We evaluated some products and protocols designed for reliable RNA extraction from minute tissue samples and safe tissue storage at room temperature without RNA degradation. Success of RNA retrieval was compared for varying amounts of tissue (3, 5, 10 hair follicles), stored at different temperatures (room temperature, ?20 °C) for variable durations (1, 3, 6, 12 weeks). We also compared two RNA isolation kits specialized for small samples. RNA was successfully retrieved from as few as 3 hairs stored at room temperature for up to 6 weeks, suggesting the potential for gene expression analyses on minimally invasive samples from natural populations. |
