An Effective Method For Co-Isolating Nucleic Acids From Horticultural Aroids

Isolation of high quality nucleic acids from aroids can be difficult due to the presence of carbohydrates, phenolics, and other compounds that bind to and/or co-precipitate with the DNA or RNA. Methods previously used for marine algae, mango, and papaya were modified and successfully used for the simultaneous isolation of high quality genomic DNA and RNA from Anthurium, Colocasia, and Spathiphyllum leaves. Genomic DNA yields averaged 477 mug.g(-1) fresh weight for Anthurium and 322 and 177 mug.g(-1) fresh weight, respectively, for Colocasia and Spathiphyllum. Total RNA yields averaged 129,mug.g(-1) fresh weight for Anthurium and 61 and 50,mug.g(-1) fresh weight, respectively, for Colocasia and Spathiphyllum. This method may be useful in co-isolating high quality nucleic acids from additional aroids and other plants.