I'm currently working on a project that aims to quantify the amount of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG in the gut of rats after giving the said bacteria to the rats for 4wks via oral gavage. I'll be quantifying the amount of bacteria using real time-PCR.

Does anyone have an experience using spin-column DNA extraction kit to extract bacterial DNA from tissue samples like cecum? How do you homogenize your cecum samples?

I'm planning to homogenize mine using a normal (kitchen) handheld blender since we don't have a homogenizer or bead beater in our lab. Will that be enough to release the bacterial cells from the tissue? More so, what suspension medium do you use? I saw articles that used sterile PBS. However, the bacterial DNA extraction kit that I will use specified that the starting sample for extraction is a bacterial broth culture. Can I suspend the cecum samples in an appropriate broth media instead of suspending it in PBS for homogenization?

I would highly appreciate your inputs on this matter. Thank you in advanced on your responses.