title: An efficient and economical method for extraction of DNA amenable to biotechnological manipulations, from diverse soils and sediments.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  An attempt was made to optimize a new protocol for isolation of pure metagenomic DNA from soil samples.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Various chemicals (FeCl3 , MgCl2 , CaCl2 and activated charcoal) were tested for their efficacy in isolation of metagenomic DNA from different soil and compost samples. Among these trials, charcoal and MgCl2 when used in combination yielded highly pure DNA free from humic acids and other contaminants. The DNA extracted with the optimized protocol was readily digested, amplified and cloned. Moreover, compared with a well-established commercial DNA isolation kit (UltraClean™ Soil DNA Isolation Kit), our method for DNA isolation was found to be economical. This demonstrated that the method developed can be applied to a wide variety of soil samples and allows handling of multiple samples at a given time.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The optimized protocol developed has successfully yielded pure metagenomic DNA amenable to biotechnological manipulations.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A user-friendly and economical protocol for isolation of DNA from soil and compost samples has been developed.
authors: Lignocellulose Biotechnology Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, University of Delhi South Campus, New Delhi, India.
authors: S
authors: S
authors: Sharma
authors: K K
authors: KK
authors: Sharma
authors: R C
authors: RC
authors: Kuhad
mesh_terms: D001709:Biotechnology; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D004271:DNA, Fungal / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000382:microbiology; D056186:Metagenomics / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods*; D012988:Soil Microbiology
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004271:DNA, Fungal
keywords: activated charcoal; compost; magnesium chloride; metagenomic DNA; soil