DNA isolation is a crucial step of conducting genetic studies in any organism. However, this process is quite difficult when studying fungi because of the need to damage the fungal cell walls of specific structures. In this study, we developed a method for the rapid and efficient isolation of fungal DNA based on simultaneous mechanical and enzymatic cell wall degradation. There are several typical modifications of the standard phenol-chloroform DNA extraction method. This method can be modified to degrade the fungal cell wall.
We developed a rapid method for extraction of DNA from honey bees, Apis mellifera, and from the parasitic bee mite, Varroa destructor. The advantages include fast processing and low toxicity of the substances that are utilized. We used lysis buffer with nonionic detergents to lyse cell walls and proteinase K to digest proteins. We tested whole thorax, thoracic muscle mass, legs, and antennae from individual bees; the mites were processed whole (1 mite/sample).
