S0960258518000296jra 360..364

Seeds are notoriously high in polyphenols and polysaccharides, which reduce RNA quality and yield, and interfere with downstream applications. We present simple modifications to a rapid RNA extraction protocol for use with seeds. The inclusion of polyethylene glycol in place of polyvinylpyrrolidone reduced polyphenol and polysaccharide contamination. In addition, replacing NaCl with KCl improved the RNA yield from Arabidopsis seeds still bound by mucilage. On extraction of Arabidopsis seed recovered from field soils clean RNA pellets with no accompanying gelatinous matrix (polysaccharide) were seen, with A260/230 ratios greater than 1.8 confirming the lack of polysaccharide carry-over. When Brassica oleracea and Sinapis arvensis seeds were extracted, 260/230 ratios greater than 1.8 were seen. RNA yields in excess of 10 μg per 100 mg seed suitable for RT-QPCR were obtained.