Extraction of DNA from Plant Tissue: Review and Protocols

DNA extraction is usually the first step required for most molecular biology investigations. DNA can be extracted from any organism and from a variety of tissues with varying degrees of success. In this chapter we focus on DNA extraction from plants. We provide a useful reference list for researchers summarizing investigations that have used DNA extraction categorized by plant division, family, species, tissues used, and the application for the extracted DNA. We discuss extraction of DNA from different plant tissues as well as some of the downstream application for which the isolated DNA is used. We also list some of the kits that are commercially available for DNA extraction. Finally, we provide two detailed extraction protocols, one using the CTAB method and the other using the Edwards method.