RNA Extraction from Saccharomyces Cerevisiae on the Bead Ruptor Elite

Via fermentation, Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been used for thousands of years for baking and in the production of alcoholic beverages. Particularly it is one of the first organisms to have its genome sequenced. As a result, yeasts like S. cerevisiae are one of the easiest single-celled organisms to study due to their short generation time and feasibility to culture. Also, many of their essential cellular processes are similar to those found in humans making it an excellent model organism for understanding biochemical, cellular and molecular interactions for eukaryotic organisms. Traditionally, yeast RNA and intracellular proteins are extracted from cells by enzymatic methods. These enzymatic methods can be time consuming and can lead to the denaturation of some intracellular proteins. Mechanical disruption is often needed to effectively lyse the cells and release biological molecules. Bead mill homogenizers, such as the Omni Bead Ruptor Elite™ bead mill homogenizer, can quickly and effectively disrupt yeast cell walls for extraction of compounds such as RNA. Herein, we evaluate the potential for extraction of RNA from S. cerevisiae cells on the Omni Bead Ruptor Elite bead mill homogenizer. The extraction efficiency and analyte integrity was evaluated.

Figure 1: RNA Agarose Gel Electrophoresis of S. cerevisiae lysate: Lane 1. New England Biolab ssRNA Ladder. Lane 2: 1 μL extracted RNA. Lane 3: 2 μL extracted RNA. Lane 4: 4 μL extracted RNA