Investigating the Effect of Storage and Drying Conditions on DNA Extracted from D. brandisii

Dendrocalamus brandisii is recognized as one among the most valuable multipurpose bamboo species in India. Isolation of pure genomic DNA is a significant component for PCR amplification and DNA fingerprinting analysis of plant species. DNA was isolated with slight modification in the CTAB method without liquid nitrogen. An effort was made to study the effect of storage and drying conditions on DNA quality and quantity. Collected leaf samples were stored both freshly and silica dried for different duration of time (10 days, 30 days and 60 days) at 4°C and genomic DNA was extracted. The quantity and the quality of the DNA obtained were ascertained spectrophotometrically and by electrophoresis in agarose gel. The average yield ranged from 25.3 to 337.32 ng DNA per 50 mg of leaf tissue. Mean yield and purity of the extracted DNA was more in silica dried leaves when compared to fresh leaves stored at different interval. DNA was further diluted and optimised, for PCR amplification with universal primers rbcL 1F & 724R and rbcL aF & aR, without the need for PCR enhancers. The modified protocol described herein has proved to be advantageous as it is simple, efficient, and employs affordable reagents resulting in good quality DNA from D. brandisii leaves.