Papers in the Biological Sciences
ORCID IDs
0000-0003-1410-8701
0000-0002-1125-3172
Document Type
Article
Date of this Version
2018
Citation
MITOCHONDRIAL DNA PART B: RESOURCES, 2018 VOL. 3, NO. 1, 239–242
Abstract
Current mitochondrial purification techniques are tedious and protracted due to their emphasis on recovering physiologically active mitochondria. However, for studies that are exclusively interested in isolating mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) for applications such as PCR and sequencing, respiring mitochondria - and the complex procedures that stem from the need to retain their function - are unnecessary. Still, global DNA extraction methods have proven insufficient for mitochondrial DNA isolation because nuclear mitochondrial DNA segments (NUMTs) pose unique challenges to accurate mtDNA quantification and characterization. We present a rapid and simple extraction technique that maximizes recovery of mitochondrial DNA from plant cells, while minimizing the presence of nuclear DNA. Through realtime PCR, we show that this method provides a significant increase in the enrichment of mitochondrial DNA compared to that of nuclear DNA in both Arabidopsis thaliana and Brassica rapa. This method has important implications for future mitochondrial DNA analyses as it possesses few procedural limitations and minimizes the analytical problems typically associated with mtDNA purification by other techniques.
Comments
Copyright 2018 The Author(s).
Open access
https://doi.org/10.1080/23802359.2018.1438856