DNA Extraction from Turbatrix aceti using the Bead Ruptor 4 and the Omni Nucleic Acid Purification Kit

Nematodes are roundworms that are numerous in species. With such a variety, they have nearly adapted to every kind of environment ranging from aqueous to soil environments and polar to tropical regions. More than half of nematode species are parasitic causing such conditions as trichinosis in humans, heart worm disease in domestic pets, and a variety of crop losses. Although there is such an abundance of parasitic nematodes, some are non-parasitic and are actually used as model organisms. One in particular, Turbatrix aceti, or the vinegar eel, has been used in DNA damage studies to understand the cause of aging1. T. aceti is one of the easiest species of nematodes to maintain since they can be grown in unpasteurized vinegar. T. aceti feeds off mother of vinegar, which is a microbial culture consisting of cellulose and acetic acid bacteria that forms in fermenting alcoholic liquids. To better understand the molecular processes that occur in the vinegar eel, an efficient DNA extraction method is important.

Herein, we demonstrate a DNA extraction workflow from T. aceti using the Omni Bead Ruptor 4 bead mill homogenizer for sample preparation of nematode lysates. Extraction efficiency and analyte integrity were evaluated downstream.

Table 2: Average DNA concentrations of each sample