Year: 2022
Type: preprint
Abstract: Sample preparation in genomics is a critical step that is often overlooked in molecular workflows and impacts the success of downstream genetic applications. This study explores the use of a recently developed focused ultrasound extraction (FUSE) technique to enable the rapid release of DNA from plant tissues for genetic analysis. FUSE generates a dense acoustic cavitation bubble cloud that pulverizes targeted tissue into acellular debris. This technique was applied to leaf samples of American chestnut ( Castanea dentata ), tulip poplar ( Liriodendron tulipifera ), red maple ( Acer rubrum ), and chestnut oak ( Quercus montana ). We observed that FUSE can extract high quantities of DNA in 9-15 minutes, compared to the 30 minutes required for conventional DNA extraction. FUSE extracted DNA quantities of 24.33 ± 6.51 ng/mg and 35.32 ± 9.21 ng/mg from American chestnut and red maple, respectively, while conventional methods yielded 6.22 ± 0.87 ng/mg and 11.51 ± 1.95 ng/mg, respectively. The quality of the DNA released by FUSE allowed for successful amplification and next-generation sequencing. These results indicate that FUSE can improve DNA extraction efficiency for leaf tissues. Continued development of this technology aims to adapt to field-deployable systems to increase the cataloging of genetic biodiversity, particularly in low-resource biodiversity hotspots.
Institutions: Virginia Tech, University of Washington
Language: English
Subfield: Materials Chemistry
Field: Materials Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W4283457446