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Dispatches from the Lab

By evolgen on September 18, 2006.

After spending the last couple of years in front of a computer or in the fly room, I finally returned to the wet lab last week. The occasion: DNA isolation. Now, this isn't any ole' DNA isolation protocol. That would be too easy. Instead, I need some high molecular weight DNA, which means it takes a few days from start to finish with lots of centrifugation throughout.

Because I need lots of high quality DNA, I need a fair bit of tissue. This wouldn't be much of a problem if I were working with an organism with a substantial body mass. Alas, I work with Drosophila, and they're tiny. That means I need to do some major fly pimpin':

i-907c040ce8d6d3688865371e3259f628-fly_pimpin.gif

Once I've pimped up enough flies, I get to grind 'em up, spin 'em around, and isolate their DNA. The best part of the protocol, though, is that I get multiple opportunities to cut plasticware with hot razor blade:

i-39d1fc0eb50a60942ba3105dedf4b9d1-hot_razor_plastic.gif

Tags
Drosophila
In the Lab
Molecular Biology
Vanity

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The best part of the protocol, though, is that I get multiple opportunities to cut plasticware with hot razor blade.

That's what we call cowboy science.

You could reduce your costs by the method described in one of my favourite papers (freely available):
Bahl A, Pfenninger M. A rapid method of DNA isolation using laundry detergent.
Nucleic Acids Res. 1996 Apr 15;24(8):1587-8

sparc, I've tried some other methods for DNA isolation, but they don't yield the same quality DNA I get from a CsCl extraction. Plus, this is the only one in which I get to cut plastic with a hot razor blade.