TY - JOUR
T1 - Nondestructive DNA extraction from museum specimens
AU - Hofreiter, Michael
PY - 2012
Y1 - 2012
N2 - Natural history museums around the world hold millions of animal and plant specimens that are potentially amenable to genetic analyses. With more and more populations and species becoming extinct, the importance of these specimens for phylogenetic and phylogeographic analyses is rapidly increasing. However, as most DNA extraction methods damage the specimens, nondestructive extraction methods are useful to balance the demands of molecular biologists, morphologists, and museum curators. Here, I describe a method for nondestructive DNA extraction from bony specimens (i.e., bones and teeth). In this method, the specimens are soaked in extraction buffer, and DNA is then purified from the soaking solution using adsorption to silica. The method reliably yields mitochondrial and often also nuclear DNA. The method has been adapted to DNA extraction from other types of specimens such as arthropods.
AB - Natural history museums around the world hold millions of animal and plant specimens that are potentially amenable to genetic analyses. With more and more populations and species becoming extinct, the importance of these specimens for phylogenetic and phylogeographic analyses is rapidly increasing. However, as most DNA extraction methods damage the specimens, nondestructive extraction methods are useful to balance the demands of molecular biologists, morphologists, and museum curators. Here, I describe a method for nondestructive DNA extraction from bony specimens (i.e., bones and teeth). In this method, the specimens are soaked in extraction buffer, and DNA is then purified from the soaking solution using adsorption to silica. The method reliably yields mitochondrial and often also nuclear DNA. The method has been adapted to DNA extraction from other types of specimens such as arthropods.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84856261329&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/978-1-61779-516-9_13
DO - 10.1007/978-1-61779-516-9_13
M3 - Article
C2 - 22237527
SN - 1940-6029
VL - 840
SP - 93
EP - 100
JO - Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.)
JF - Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.)
ER -