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Presented here is a description of the straightforward and relatively rapid isolation of Caenorhabditis elegans genomic DNA from one or a few animals using a commercially available tissue kit. The resulting gDNA preparation is a suitable template for PCR.
Genomic DNA extraction from single or a few Caenorhabditis elegans has many downstream applications, including PCR for genotyping lines, cloning, and sequencing. The traditional proteinase K-based methods for genomic DNA extraction from C. elegans take several hours. Commercial extraction kits that effectively break open the C. elegans cuticle and extract genomic DNA are limited. An easy, faster (~15 min), and cost-efficient method of extracting C. elegans genomic DNA that works well for classroom and research applications is reported here. This DNA extraction method is optimized to use single or a few late-larval (L4) or adult nematodes as starting material for obtaining a reliable template to perform PCR. The results indicate that the DNA quality is suitable for amplifying gene targets of different sizes by PCR, permitting genotyping of single or a few animals even at dilutions to one-fiftieth of the genomic DNA from a single adult per reaction. The reported protocols can be reliably used to quickly produce DNA template from a single or a small sample of C. elegans for PCR-based applications.
Here, two related protocols are presented for the lysis of Caenorhabditis elegans to make DNA accessible for PCR-based applications. PCR is a commonly used molecular technique used for many applications, including genotyping and amplifying DNA fragments for cloning and sequencing, among others. The small (1 mm), free-living roundworm C. elegans is a popular animal system for biological research. Obtaining suitable genomic DNA from a single animal or a few animals is sufficient to amplify the sequence by PCR. Late L4 larvae and adults contain only ~1,000 somatic cells (including some multi-nuclear, polyploid cells), germ cells, and (if the animal is a gravid hermaphrodite) offspring in utero1. However, these animals are protected by a cuticle that must be disrupted to extract the genomic DNA2. Standard methods to prepare nematode genomic DNA template for PCR involve multiple steps and take several hours. The animals are first frozen in worm lysis buffer containing proteinase K (−70 °C or below) for at least 15-45 min (longer is recommended by some protocols)3,4,5,6. This step cracks open the animals.
After freezing, the animals are incubated for 1 h at 60-65 °C for the proteinase K to work, then the enzyme is inactivated for 15-30 min at 95 °C. The proteinase K destroys the nucleases that degrade DNA. The inactivation of proteinase K before PCR is important to prevent the proteinase K from degrading the DNA polymerase. The two kit-based protocols described here are quick, reliable, and cost-effective methods to extract genomic DNA from either a single animal or a few nematodes for everyday research and teaching laboratory applications. The kit used was originally optimized by the manufacturer to extract DNA from animal tissue, saliva, and hair7. It uses a proprietary tissue preparation solution and extraction solution to lyse cells and make genomic DNA accessible. A proprietary neutralization solution then neutralizes the components that may inhibit PCR (e.g., salts, ions, and Mg2+-binding molecules).
When genotyping, a single animal can be tested. When determining if a strain is homozygous, testing six or more offspring from a single animal gives high confidence that a line is homozygous or not (there is a 0.02% chance of randomly picking six homozygous mutant progeny from a heterozygous parent [(1/4)6 × 100% = 0.02%]). This method 1) is straightforward, with fewer steps than the proteinase K method, and 2) decreases the template preparation time to 15 min. The results in this work demonstrate that the developed protocol works robustly in extracting genomic DNA from single or a few worms, which can be reliably used for downstream applications that do not require highly purified DNA, including PCR.
1. C. elegans maintenance
NOTE: N2 (wild type) and blmp-1(tm548) C. elegans strains were maintained on standard nematode growth media (NGM) plates at 20 °C.
2. Single-worm DNA extraction
NOTE: This method is useful for extracting DNA from a single worm (one worm in 1.8 µL of total volume). A master mix can be made if multiple worms will be lysed at one time.
3. DNA extraction of a few individuals
NOTE: This method is useful for extracting DNA from a few worms. A master mix can be prepared if multiple strains will be lysed at one time.
4. PCR reaction
NOTE: One downstream application of this worm lysis technique, detecting a deletion mutation using a fast polymerase, is described. The effectiveness of the two worm lysis protocols in producing genomic template DNA for successful PCR at dilutions to 1/50th of a worm per reaction is also demonstrated.
Genomic DNA from a single or a few wild-type adults was extracted using the commercial kit or traditional lysis protocol to compare the efficacy of these two methods. These lysates were then used as templates for PCR to amplify either a larger target of ~2,100 bp (encoding blmp-1) or a smaller target of ~500 bp (encoding a part of sma-10). Both methods successfully yielded appropriate PCR products (Figure 1A).
Next, the ability of kit-extracted g...
Determining the genotypes of C. elegans is an important step while performing genetic crosses to create new C. elegans strains. Genomic DNA extraction using a single or few C. elegans is a crucial step in genotyping C. elegans. This protocol describes genomic DNA extraction from C. elegans using a commercial kit. This method is fast and works robustly. The genomic DNA extracted using this method can be used for downstream applications, including genotyping, sequencing, and clo...
The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.
The N2 strain and E. coli OP50 bacteria were obtained from the Caenorhabditis Genetics Center (CGC), which is funded by NIH Office of Research Infrastructure Programs (P40 OD010440). The blmp-1(tm548) strain was obtained from the National Bioresource Project, Japan. The authors thank WormBase. This work was supported by NIH R01GM097591 to T.L.G., internal funding by Texas Woman's University to T.L.G, and TWU's Center for Student Research to M.F.L.
Name | Company | Catalog Number | Comments |
autoclave tape | Defend | 43237-2 | |
aluminium foil, heavy duty | Reynolds Wrap | 2182934 | |
calcium chloride | Millipore Sigma | 102382 (CAS 10035-04-8) | |
Extract-N-Amp kit (includes Tissue Preparation Solution, Extraction Solution, and Neutralization Solution) | Sigma-Aldrich Co. LLC | XNAT2-1KT | |
Isotemp hotplate/stirrer | Fisher Scientific | 11-100-495H | |
LB media, Lennox, capsules | MP Biomedicals, LLC | 3002-131 | |
magnesium sulfate, 97% pure, anhydrous | Thermo Scientific | AC413485000 (CAS 7487-88-9) | |
microcentrifuge | Labnet International, Inc. | PrismR, C2500-R | |
NEB Q5U Hot Start High-Fidelity DNA polymerase | New England Biolabs, Inc. | M0515S | "Pol E" used in Supplemental Figure S1, a high-speed, high-fidelity polymerase (20–30 s/kb) |
NGM media powder | US Biological Life Sciences | N1000 | |
Phusion High-Fidelity PCR Master Mix with HF Buffer | New England Biolabs, Inc. | M0531S | "Pol D" in Figure 1B, a high-speed, high-fidelity polymerase (15–30 s/kb) |
primers | Integrated DNA Technologies | custom DNA oligos | |
PrimeSTAR GXL polymerase | Takara Bio Inc. | R050B | "Pol C" in Figure 1B, a high-fidelity polymerase (1 min/kb) for GC-rich templates and templates up to 30 kb |
Quick-Load Purple 2-log DNA Ladder (0.1–10.0 kb) | New England Biolabs, Inc. | N0550S | |
SapphireAmp Fast PCR Master Mix | Takara Bio Inc. | RR350A | "Pol A" in Figure 1B, polymerase used in Figure 1A, C, D, a high-speed polymerase (10 s/kb) for targets up to 5 kb |
Sigma ReadyMix Taq PCR reaction mix | Sigma-Aldrich Co. LLC | P4600 | "Pol B" in Figure 1B, a polymerase (1 min/kb) for targets up to 7 kb |
SimpliAmp thermal cycler | Applied Biosystems | A24812 | |
stir bar | Fisher Scientific | 14-512-126 | |
vortex mixer | Fisher Scientific | 2215365 | |
worm pick | Genesee Scientific Corporation | 59-AWP |
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