Isolation of high quality DNA and RNA from leaves of the carnivorous plant Drosera rotundifolia

Drosera rotundifolia belongs to the family of the sundews, a large group of carnivorous plants that carry stalked glands on the upper leaf surface to attract, trap and digest insects for food. Therefore, such plants can live in relatively poor ecosystems. They are frequently used as medicinal herbs and have various other interesting characteristics associated with them. In attempts to evaluate the gene pool of these plants, we experienced that many published protocols for nucleic acid isolation failed to yield DNA and RNA of sufficient quality for analysis. Therefore, we have developed CTAB (hexadecyltrimethylammoniumbromide)-based extraction protocols for the routine isolation of high-quality DNA and RNA from small amounts of in vitro-grown Drosera rotundifolia leaves. The methods developed are simple, fast and effective. The obtained DNA could be analyzed by PCR, restriction endonucleases and DNA gel blotting, and the obtained RNA was of sufficient quality for RT-PCR and RNA gel blotting.