RNA extraction

[Purvis Bedenbaugh]

Can the lab III-5 DNA extraction be modified for RNA extraction ?

[The Home Scientist]

On Saturday, September 3, 2016 at 9:17:39 AM UTC-4, Purvis Bedenbaugh wrote:

Can the lab III-5 DNA extraction be modified for RNA extraction ?

Unfortunately, no. RNA extraction is considerably more difficult than DNA extraction, and requires equipment and reagents that are not suited to a home lab. Wikipedia has a good summary article on RNA extraction here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RNA_extraction 

[Purvis Bedenbaugh]

Thanks so much for saving us from a dead end.

Is there anything quantifiable in the home-level DNA extraction ?

My son was wanting to compare the amount of DNA vs RNA extracted from green fruit vs ripe fruit, fuit vs sprouts, cotton fibers vs leaves, etc. for his science fair project.

Best regards, 

PB

[Robert Bruce Thompson]

On 09/03/2016 11:34 AM, Purvis Bedenbaugh wrote:
> Thanks so much for saving us from a dead end.
> Is there anything quantifiable in the home-level DNA extraction ?
> My son was wanting to compare the amount of DNA vs RNA extracted from green
> fruit vs ripe fruit, fuit vs sprouts, cotton fibers vs leaves, etc. for his
> science fair project.
> Best regards,
> PB

The amount of DNA extracted will really depend on the mass of starting
material rather than the species.

If you wish, you can purchase restriction enzymes from Carolina
Biological Supply or other vendors. These enzymes cleave the DNA
molecule at different specific pairs, creating fragments of different
masses, which can be separated by gel electrophoresis into bands, which
you can visualize by staining them with methylene blue or another DNA
stain. The pattern of the banding is specific to each species (actually,
to each individual, which is the basis of forensic DNA analysis).

Restriction enzymes are unstable and must be kept refrigerated, so you'd
want to have everything ready to go before you order them.