I'm needing to devise a system to grind 28 samples of single species plant material (range of 0.5-26g per sp) for a DNA barcoding project. There are DNA extraction procedures for grinding plant material but they typically work with miniscule amounts of plant material (~0.05 g) and don't seem relevant. I need something that will enable me to process much larger amounts. I also need it to be simple enough to effectively clean and remove extraneous DNA (e.g. bleach or DNA Exitus Plus) between samples. We have a wiley mill but it seems highly likely to have DNA carryover (i.e. DNA contamination).
My first thought was liquid nitrogen and a mortar and pestle but this techniques is also typically done on samples that are pretty small (~1g) and am not sure it would work with such large quantities of plant material without me getting a repetitive use injury. I then thought larger quantities of material could be processed with a blender (with water & not liquid nitrogen) & then freeze dry the homogenized sample. Ideally, I would like the final material fine enough to pass through a 2mm screen but can possibly change this tolerance. Suggestions? Kurt ___________________________________________ Kurt Reinhart, Experimental Plant Ecologist USDA-Agricultural Research Service Fort Keogh Livestock & Range Research Laboratory 243 Fort Keogh Rd. Miles City, MT 59301 Ph: (406) 874-8211 Lab website<http://www.grasslandscience.net/> This electronic message contains information generated by the USDA solely for the intended recipients. Any unauthorized interception of this message or the use or disclosure of the information it contains may violate the law and subject the violator to civil or criminal penalties. If you believe you have received this message in error, please notify the sender and delete the email immediately.
