Development of a standard protocol for DNA isolation from leaf-cutting ants suitable for phylogenetic studies and molecular identification

BICH, GUSTAVO; CASTRILLO, MARÍA LORENA; VILLALBA, LAURA LIDIA; ZAPATA, PEDRO DARÍO

Bulletin of Trends in Biological Sciences

Scibay Publications

Año: 2017 vol. 1 p. 27 - 30

This protocol provides details of a simple, reliable, inexpensive and rapid method for DNA isolation from different types of leaf-cuttingant tissue samples. The method involves tissue grinding, buffer addition and successive steps of protein purification and DNAprecipitation. Different ant tissues were evaluated for DNA extraction. The DNA yield ranged from 1.6 to 10.5 μg depending on theinitial ant tissue sample. The procedure provides suitable amounts of DNA to be used in PCRs. Amplifications using DNA from each ofthe tissues evaluated were able to amplify a fragment of the mitochondrial COI gene of approximately 800 bp from both Atta anAcromyrmex species. This protocol provides a simple DNA isolation method for molecular identification and phylogenetic studies ofleaf-cutting ants.