Isolation of Genomic DNA from Various Specimens using CTAB-Based Protocol

The method to isolate genomic DNA is vary depending on the types of specimens. The current DNA isolation methods are hardly fits and compatible for various types of specimens, and require high costing. In this study, CTAB- based protocol was used to determine DNA isolation methods for five different types of specimens, which were plants, algae, fungi, bacteria, and insects. The specimens consist of leaves and flowers of Bougainvillea sp., seeds of Hibiscus sabdariffa, and stems of Tridax procumbens for angiosperm samples, followed by Spirulina sp. and Sargassum sp. for algae samples, fungus mycelia harvested from the fungus grown on white bread, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Enterococcus faecalis for bacterial samples, and, Gryllus bimaculatus and Athous haemorrhaidalis as insect samples. The protocol relied on cell lysis using 2 % CTAB buffer, followed by DNA precipitation using chloroform: isoamyl alcohol in ratio 24: 1, and ice-cold isopropanol, washing DNA pellet using 70 % ethanol, and DNA elution using sterilized distilled water. DNA purity and quantification are conducted by using agarose gel electrophoresis and UV spectrophotometer. The result shows that plant samples have the highest concentration of DNA; Bougainvillea sp.'s leaves (77.2 ng/mu L) and Hibiscus sabdariffas' seeds (70.7 ng/mu L), while the highest absorbance ratio A(260)/A(280) was recorded for fungus (1.89) and Enterococcus faecalis (1.82). Modifications on DNA isolation methods were performed and compared to produce a better result during DNA quantification. The DNA from all specimens were successfully isolated using CTAB-based protocol and can be visualized through 1% agarose gel electrophoresis.