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Extraction of Nucleic Acids from Agarose Gel -A Quantitative and Qualitative Comparison of Four Different Methods a

K. K. Pun & W. Kam

a

a

Department of Medicine, Laboratory Medicine Biophysics and Biochemistry , University of California , San Francisco S.F., CA, 94123, U.S.A. Published online: 23 Oct 2006.

To cite this article: K. K. Pun & W. Kam (1990) Extraction of Nucleic Acids from Agarose Gel -A Quantitative and Qualitative Comparison of Four Different Methods, Preparative Biochemistry, 20:2, 123-135, DOI: 10.1080/00327489008050184 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00327489008050184

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PREPARATIVE BIOCHEMISTRY, 20(2), 123-135 (1990)

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EXTRACTION OF NUCLEIC ACIDS FROM AGAROSE GEL A QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE COMPARISON OF FOUR DIFFERENT METHODS

-

K. K. Pun and W. Kam Department o f Medicine, Laboratory Medicine, Biophysics and Biochemistry, U n i v e r s i t y o f C a l i f o r n i a , San Francisco, S.F., CA 94123, U.S.A. ABSTRACT Agarose gel electrophoresis i s commonly used t o separate d i f f e r e n t species o f n u c l e i c acids. We compare f o u r d i f f e r e n t methods o f e x t r a c t i o n which are commonly used. These methods i n c l u d e b u f f e r e x t r a c t i o n , e l e c t r o e l u t i o n , g l a s s bead e x t r a c t i o n and e x t r a c t i o n o f DNA from low-melting agarose. The r e s u l t s show t h a t DNA e x t r a c t e d by these f o u r methods i s comparable i n t h e i r l i g a b i l i t y t o t h e PMT 2 1 vectors and t h e plasmids w i t h i n s e r t can be used f o r subsequent t r a n s f e c t i o n s o f competent b a c t e r i a . There i s a higher y i e l d f o r b u f f e r e x t r a c t i o n and e l e c t r o e l u t i o n when compared w i t h glass bead e x t r a c t i o n and low m e l t i n g agarose (pt0.05). To conclude, t h e f o u r commonly used methods f o r DNA i s o l a t i o n are comparable q u a l i t a t i v e l y . But t h e simplest method, namely b u f f e r e x t r a c t i o n , has t h e highest y i e l d . INTRODUCTION

Agarose gel electrophoresis i s an indispensable technique i n recombinant DNA technology'. It i s valuable both as an a n a l y t i c a l procedure and as a p r e p a r a t i v e process f o r i s o l a t i n g i n d i v i d u a l species o f DNA molecules from a mixture2. Several methods f o r recovery o f DNA from g e l s are commonly used. However each method has i t s own advantages and disadvantages and no study has been performed t o compare t h e various methods. Thus i t i s d i f f i c u l t t o choose t h e best method f o r use i n t h e l a b o r a t o r y 3 . A major problem i n t h e p r e p a r a t i v e use i s t o recover DNA from i n d i v i d u a l g e l band i n good y i e l d and y e t f r e e o f contamination by agarose 123 Copyright 0 1990 by Marcel Dekker, Inc.

124

PUN AND KAM

'.

This study aims a t comparing f o u r commonly used methods of recovery o f DNA from agarose g e l s . These methods i n c l u d e buffer e x t r a c t i o n , e l e c t r o e l u t i on, g l ass bead e x t r a c t i o n and e x t r a c t i o n of

DNA

from low-melting

agarose.

Both q u a n t i t a t i v e

and

q u a l i t a t i v e assessments were performed.

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MATERIALS AND METHODS

M a t e r i a1 s. corporation.

Sea Kem ME agarose was Marine C o l l o i d s D i v i s i o n .

obtained Bacterial

f r o m FMC a1 k a l i n e

phosphatase, r e s t r i c t i o n enzymes, d i a l y s i s t u b i n g and DNA from bacteriophage were obtained from Bethesda Research Laboratories (Gaithersburg, Maryland). S i l i c a - 3 2 5 mesh (a powdered f l i n t glass) was obtained from l o c a l ceramic shop. A l l o t h e r reagents were purchased from standard 1aboratory suppl i e r s . 600 ug o f DNA f r o m P r e D a r a t i o n o f P z - l a b e l e d DNA. bacteriophage was c u t w i t h t h e r e s t r i c t i o n enzyme, Hind II15. 100 ug o f t h e digested fragments was subsequently P3*-labeled t o a s p e c i f i c a c t i v i t y o f about lo6 cpm/ug by end-labeling w i t h T4

DNA polymerase6. The l a b e l e d fragments were mixed w i t h t h e remaining 500 ug o f non-labeled DNA fragments and separated by agarose gel e l e c t r o p h o r e i s (30 mA overnight). A f t e r e t h i d i u m bromide s t a i n i n g , DNA-containing s l i c e s (each w i t h about 10'cpm) were c u t o u t and subject t o one o f t h e t h r e e d i f f e r e n t e x t r a c t i o n procedures, namely b u f f e r e x t r a c t i o n , e l e c t r o e l u t i o n o r g l a s s bead e x t r a c t i o n . A l i q u o t s w i t h s i m i l a r amount o f r a d i o a c t i v i t y were run on low-melting agarose g e l . various methods were compared.

The r e s u l t s as obtained by

Methods o f DNA recovery from qels. The f o l l o w i n g 4 methods o f e x t r a c t i o n were compared i n t h i s study. The i n d i v i d u a l band o f i n t e r e s t was subject t o e x t r a c t i o n . The f i n a l e x t r a c t e d DNA was assessed both q u a n t i t a t i v e l y and q u a l i t a t i v e l y . Method 1 Recoverv o f DNA from low-me1 t i n a aqarose q e l Electrophoresis o f t h e DNA r e s t r i c t i o n fragments was performed on

.

125

EXTRACTION OF NUCLEIC A C I D S FROM AGAROSE GEL

'.

l o w - m e l t i n g a g a r o s e a t 4 O C as d e s c r i b e d a b o v e The g e l fragments o f i n t e r e s t (0.56, 2.0, 4.4 and 9.5 Kb) were c u t o u t w i t h r a z o r blades. The agarose around each i n d i v i d u a l band was subsequently m e l t e d a t 65'

f o r 5 minutes.

The DNA was t w i c e

e x t r a c t e d w i t h phenol a t room temperature and p r e c i p i t a t e d w i t h

1/10 volume o f 7.5 M ammonium a c e t a t e (pH 7.5) and 2 volumes o f

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c o l d ethanol

(0

O).

After precipitation,

t h e p r e c i p i t a t e was

d i s s o l v e d i n 20 u l o f b u f f e r c o n t a i n i n g 40 mM T r i s - a c e t a t e and 1 mM EDTA8. Method 2 E l u t i o n bv d i f f u s i o n . The procedure c o n s i s t e d o f crushing gel slices i n t o f i n e p a r t i c l e s i n 1 m l o f b u f f e r c o n t a i n i n g 40 mM T r i s - a c e t a t e and 1 mM EDTA'.

The DNA fragments

were subsequently e l u t e d by i n c u b a t i o n f o r s e v e r a l hours a t 37OC i n 5 m l o f a b u f f e r c o n t a i n i n g 40 mM T r i s - a c e t a t e and 10 mM NaCl . The e l u t e d DNA was p r e c i p i t a t e d as d e s c r i b e d above and t h e n r e d i s s o l v e d i n 20 u l o f b u f f e r c o n t a i n i n g 40 mM T r i s - a c e t a t e and

1 mM EDTA. Method 3

E l e c t r o e l u t i o n o f DNA o n t o d i a l y s i s membrane.

was e l e c t r o e l u t e d from g e l s l i c e s by

DNA Small

s l i c e s o f agarose g e l were r i n s e d i n a b u f f e r c o n t a i n i n g 40 mM T r i s - a c e t a t e and 1 mM EDTA. Subsequently t h e g e l s l i c e s were p l a c e d i n 18 mm d i a l y s i s t u b e i n t h e same b u f f e r . A r e c t a n g u l a r p l a s t i c box w i t h p l a t i n u m e l e c t r o d e s a l o n g o p p o s i t e s i d e s s e r v e s as t h e e l e c t r o - e l u t i o n chamber. DNA was e l e c t r o e l u t e d o u t o f t h e g e l and a g a i n s t t h e w a l l s o f t h e sack by e l e c t r o p h o r e s i s w i t h d i r e c t c u r r e n t f o r about 1/2 hour, and t h e p o l a r i t y was r e v e r s e d f o r about 10 seconds t o d e t a c h t h e DNA f r o m t h e s u r f a c e o f t h e membrane. The b u f f e r was t h e n p i p e t t e d f r o m t h e bag and t h e DNA p r e c i p i t a t e d as d e s c r i b e d above. Method 4 Glass Bead E x t r a c t i o n .

The g e l was ground up and

d i s s o l v e d i n a s o l u t i o n c o n t a i n i n g 2 mg/ml sodium i o d i d e a t 37

OC

f o r 2 hours l 3 9 l 4 . 40 u l o f g l a s s powder were added t o t h e s o l u t i o n a t '0 C t o l e t t h e DNA adsorb o n t o g l a s s o v e r n i g h t . 20

126

PUN AND KAM

u l o f t h e s l u r r y was shown t o be more than enough f o r adsorption o f DNA f r o m one s l i c e ( d a t a n o t shown). A f t e r o v e r n i g h t incubation, t h e glass p e l l e t w i t h t h e adsorbed DNA was spun down i n microfuge and subsequently washed w i t h 10 volumes o f t h e same sodium i o d i d e s o l u t i o n . The p e l l e t s were then e l u t e d i n 3 volumes o f a b u f f e r c o n t a i n i n g 50 mM T r i s (pH9) and 0.2 M NaCl a t 60' C

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f o r 30 minutes. The e x t r a c t i o n was repeated once. The two e x t r a c t i o n s were p o o l e d and p r e c i p i t a t e d w i t h e t h a n o l . The p r e c i p i t a t e was r e c o n s t i t u t e d i n 20 u l b u f f e r c o n t a i n i n g 1 mM Tris

(pH7.5)

and 0.1

mM EDTA and

s u b s e q u e n t l y used f o r

q u a n t i t a t i o n o f recovery.

-

A t e s t o f aualitv. L i q a t i o n and subcloninq o f e x t r a c t e d DNA The q u a l i t y o f t h e e l u t e d DNA was assessed by i t s a b i l i t y t o serve as substrates f o r DNA l i g a s e . Plasmid pMT 21, was used as t h e vector. The l i g a t i o n r e a c t i o n was performed i n t h e presence o f T4 l i g a s e , 1mM spermidine, 7 mM MgC12 , 70 uM ATP, 70 mM T r i s HC1 (pH 7.5)

as p r e v i o u s l y d e s c r i b e d 15. The m i x t u r e was

incubated f o r 5 hours a t room temperature and then added t o 150 u l HB 101 competent c e l l s . The t r a n s f e c t e d c e l l s were incubated f o r 1 hour a t 4' C and heat-shocked f o r 2 minutes a t 42' C. 1 ml o f L u r i a b r o t h was added t o a l l o w growth o f t h e b a c t e r i a . A f t e r microfuging f o r 2 minutes, t h e supernatant was removed and t h e c e l l s were resuspended i n 150 u l o f L u r i a b r o t h . The c e l l s were f i n a l l y poured on an L ( a m p i c i l l i n ) p l a t e and dispersed w i t h a glass rod. Thus one L p l a t e would be used f o r each fragment o f DNA prepared by each o f t h e 4 d i f f e r e n t methods. A f t e r i n c u b a t i o n f o r 16 hours a t 3loC, a d i s c r e t e colony was picked up from t h e L p l a t e and grown up i n 5 m l o f LB medium. From t h i s c u l t u r e , an a1 k a l i n e SDS minipreparation was performed t o i s o l a t e t h e plasmid DNA f o r f u r t h e r analysis o f p u r i t y by e l e c t r o p h o r e s i s . The m i n i preparation was performed i n accordance w i t h t h e method described by Brinboim16. B r i e f l y , t r a n s f e c t e d b a c t e r i a grown i n t h e c u l t u r e b r o t h were spun down i n a SM-24 r o t o r a t 5,000 rpm

EXTRACTION OF N U C L E I C A C I D S FROM AGAROSE G E L

f o r 5 minutes.

127

The b a c t e r i a p e l 1e t was subsequently resuspended

i n 200 u l o f i c e c o l d s o l u t i o n c o n t a i n i n g 50 mM glucose, 25mM T r i s (pH 8.0) and 10 mM EDTA. The b a c t e r i a were then l y s e d w i t h a 400 u l o f f r e s h l y prepared s o l u t i o n c o n t a i n i n g 0.2 N NaOH and 1% SDS. This was mixed g e n t l y by i n v e r t i n g t h e tube 3 times and h e l d a t O°C f o r 5 minutes. F i n a l l y 300 u l o f i c e - c o l d 5M sodium acetate (pH 4.8) was added and held a t O°C f o r 15 minutes. A Downloaded by [Tulane University] at 10:05 19 October 2014

curd-like precipitate

would form.

This was c e n t r i f u g e d f o r 2

minutes and t h e supernatant was subsequently e x t r a c t e d by phenol

.

DNA i n t h e supernatant was f i n a l l y p r e c i p i t a t e d by c o l d ethanol and t h e p e l l e t dissolved i n 20 u l o f a s o l u t i o n c o n t a i n i n g 40 mM T r i s - a c e t a t e and 1mM EDTA. The i s o l a t e d plasmid DNA was digested by Hind I 1 1 and an a l i q u o t o f each sample was r u n on agarose gel t o examine f o r t h e q u a l i t y o f DNA i n s e r t i n each preparation. Q u a n t i t a t i o n o f t h e y i e l d o f DNA as obtained by d i f f e r e n t methods

o f extraction. To enable accurate assessment, two d i f f e r e n t methods o f q u a n t i t a t i o n were used. The f i r s t method involved q u a n t i t a t i v e assessment of t h e r a d i o a c t i v i t y c o n t a i n e d i n each g e l band b e f o r e and a f t e r e x t r a c t i o n . The amount o f r a d i o a c t i v i t y recovered i n each band was measured i n a Packard s c i n t i l l a t i o n counter, a f t e r m i x i n g with 5 ml o f scintillation fluid. The second method was t o run t h e f i n a l products o f DNA e x t r a c t i o n on a s i n g l e agarose g e l . Both t h e pre-and p o s t e x t r a c t i o n samples were run on t h e same gel f o r comparison. A f t e r electrophoresis, Southern b l o t t i n g was performed and t h e n i t r o c e l l u l o s e membrane was l a t e r used f o r an a ~ t o r a d i o g r a m ' ~ . The amount o f DNA e x t r a c t e d was revealed by t h e i n t e n s i t y o f each band on t h e f i l m as q u a n t i t a t e d by densitometer. RESULTS

Table I shows t h e recovery o f DNA as measured by t h e r a d i o a c t i v i t y i n t h e gel s l i c e s before and a f t e r e x t r a c t i o n . The

PUN AND KAM

128

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TABLE

I

E l u t i o n e f f i c i e n c i e s w i t h d i f f e r e n t methods o f DNA e x t r a c t i o n from agarose g e l s . DNA fragments were separated on a 1% agarose g e l . The 0.56, 2.0, 4.4 and 9.5 -kbp fragments were c u t out and t h e s l i c e s (volume o f about 100 u l each) were s u b j e c t t o Methods 1 and 3 a r e d i f f e r e n t methods o f DNA e x t r a c t i o n . associated w i t h s i g n i f i c a n t l y lower y i e l d s when compared w i t h methods 2 and 4 (p

Extraction of nucleic acids from agarose gel--a quantitative and qualitative comparison of four different methods.

Agarose gel electrophoresis is commonly used to separate different species of nucleic acids. We compare four different methods of extraction which are...
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