Bivalve specimens are preserved in 70% ethanol for about 6 months. What is possibility of being able to extract DNA/RNA of bacteria that was previously consumed?
Hello, alcohol toxic for bacteria but not for DNA. If there is no DNAse in you culture samples the extraction of DNA is possible for 95%.
Ethanol (24.3) has less dielectric constant compared to water (78.5). It can thus poorly segregate the positive and negative charges in solution and also shields them poorly. now, DNA is -vely charged due to phosphate backbone. Ethanol has a lesser ability (compared to water) to keep the +vely charged of DNA apart from one another. In other hand, Ethanol molecules can form H-bonds with water molecule. Thus, less water molecule is available to hydrate DNA molecules. With this synergistic effect of ethanol, DNA molecules are aggregated because of the less separating capability between +ve ions repulsing each other. This is good from the point of view that, precipitation of DNA separates it from other contaminants. Thus, the DNA will stay intact but the bacteria will die by cell lysis.
Samantha Rowe do you want to know the RNA extraction protocol of bivalve?
Subhecchha Baidya no, I need to extract the RNA from the Esherichia coli that was fed on before the bivalves were fixed. So I believe that I need the extraction protocol for E. coli from fixed tissues. I am just baffled about how to approach this process.
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