DNA Extraction

Iraqi scientists at Al-Qasim Green University claim to have found a "universal, rapid and inexpensive" method for the isolation of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) from the blood of a wide range of species for genomic studies. Currently there is no common procedure for extracting DNA from the blood of both mammals and birds since each species has a unique property that requires different methods to release its own DNA.

DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, is the hereditary material in humans and almost all other organisms. Nearly every cell in a person’s body has the same DNA. Most DNA is located in the cell nucleus (where it is called nuclear DNA), but a small amount of DNA can also be found in the mitochondria (where it is called mitochondrial DNA or mtDNA).

The information in DNA is stored as a code made up of four chemical bases: adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine (C), and thymine (T). Human DNA consists of about 3 billion bases, and more than 99 percent of those bases are the same in all people.

The order, or sequence, of these bases determines the information available for building and maintaining an organism, similar to the way in which letters of the alphabet appear in a certain order to form words and sentences (Refer ghr.nlm.nih.gov).

Extraction of DNA is often an early step in many diagnostic processes used to detect bacteria and viruses in the environment as well as diagnosing disease and genetic disorders. These techniques include but are not limited to: Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization (FISH): FISH is a molecular technique that is used, among other things, to identify and enumerate specific bacterial groups; Terminal Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (T-RFLP): T-RFLP is used to identify, characterize, and quantify spatial and temporal patterns in marine bacterioplankton communities; and Sequencing: Portions of, or whole genomes may be sequenced as well as extra chromosomal elements for comparison with existing sequence in the public data base, according to serc.carleton.edu.

The first isolation of DNA was done in 1869 by Friedrich Miescher. Once extracted, DNA can be used for molecular analyses including PCR, electrophoresis, sequencing, fingerprinting and cloning. Sciencing.com writes that DNA can also be used for genetic engineering of both plants and animals. DNA extraction can also be used to gather evidence in a crime investigation.