Journal
BIOTECHNIQUES
Volume 48, Issue 3, Pages 233-234Publisher
FUTURE SCI LTD
DOI: 10.2144/000113362
Keywords
DNA extraction; sample preparation; biodiversity; DNA barcoding; museum samples
Funding
- Genome Canada through the Ontario Genomics Institute
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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.
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