Analytical Biochemistry 2008-03-15

Using silica particles to isolate total RNA from plant tissues recalcitrant to extraction in guanidine thiocyanate.

Ling-Wen Ding, Qiao-Yang Sun, Zhao-Yu Wang, Yong-Bin Sun, Zeng-Fu Xu

Index: Anal. Biochem. 374(2) , 426-8, (2008)

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Abstract

The most commonly used protocol of the RNA isolation, the guanidine thiocyanate method, was unsuitable for recalcitrant plant tissues containing a large amount of storage proteins and secondary metabolites. We demonstrated that RNA could bind to the silica particles, which have been used successfully in DNA isolation from various sources, under a high concentration of NaCl in the presence of ethanol and sodium acetate. Based on this observation, an efficient, inexpensive, and highly reproducible technique, the acid phenol-silica method, was developed to isolate high-quality RNAs from various plant tissues recalcitrant to extraction in guanidine thiocyanate.