Mu-DNA: a modular universal DNA extraction method adaptable for a wide range of sample types

By

Sellers, Graham S.
Di Muri, Cristina
Gómez, Africa
Hänfling, Bernd

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2018-7-5

Original Publication

Metabarcoding and metagenomics

Volume

2

Pages

1--11

Subjects

cost effective , Edna , high-throughput , metabarcoding , Metagenomics , modular adaptability , spin column

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers 2017-

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/mbmg.2.24556

 

Abstract

Efficient DNA extraction is fundamental to molecular studies. However, commercial kits are expensive when a large number of samples need to be processed. Here we present a simple, modular and adaptable DNA extraction ‘toolkit’ for the isolation of high purity DNA from multiple sample types (modular universal DNA extraction method or Mu-DNA). We compare the performance of our method to that of widely used commercial kits across a range of soil, stool, tissue and water samples. Mu-DNA produced DNA extractions of similar or higher yield and purity to that of the commercial kits. As a proof of principle, we carried out replicate fish metabarcoding of aquatic eDNA extractions, which confirmed that the species detection efficiency of our method is similar to that of the most frequently used commercial kit. Our results demonstrate the reliability of Mu-DNA along with its modular adaptability to challenging sample types and sample collection methods. Mu-DNA can substantially reduce the costs and increase the scope of experiments in molecular studies.