Evaluation of the Synergy™ Rapid Plant DNA Isolation Chemistry

A new chemistry (Synergy™ Plant DNA Extraction Kit) for the isolation of DNA from plant tissues was evaluated and compared to traditional CTAB and DNeasy® methods. These existing methods produce quality DNA, but at the expense of yield (DNeasy®) or with the use of hazardous chloroform (CTAB). Synergy™ combines bead beating with an extraction matrix that disrupts the sample while simultaneously acting as a solid phase adsorbent to capture contaminants, including polyphenols and protein. DNA isolation from Anthurium, corn, cotton, grape, rice, rye, sorghum, soybean, and wheat has demonstrated that the Synergy™ chemistry provides higher yields than both CTAB and DNeasy® methods. Purities, as measured by 260/280 and 260/230 ratios, are comparable between the extraction methods. DNA generated by the three methods, as well as the Synergy™ lysate, were all successfully amplified by PCR. Using Synergy™ lysate as a DNA source greatly simplifies sample preparation for plant PCR. The time required to process samples using the Synergy™ protocol is between 5 and 30 minutes, which is, at most, 1/3 the time required for both the CTAB and DNeasy® protocols. An analysis shows that Synergy is about half the cost per sample than DNeasy® while avoiding the issues associated with using chloroform with CTAB.