Abstract
With the expansion of molecular techniques, the historical collections have become widely used. Studying plant DNA using modern molecular techniques such as DNA sequencing plays an important role in understanding evolutionary relationships, identification through DNA barcoding, conservation status, and many other aspects of plant biology. Enormous herbarium collections are an important source of material especially for specimens from areas difficult to access or from taxa that are now extinct. The ability to utilize these specimens greatly enhances the research. However, the process of extracting DNA from herbarium specimens is often fraught with difficulty related to such variables as plant chemistry, drying method of the specimen, and chemical treatment of the specimen. Although many methods have been developed for extraction of DNA from herbarium specimens, the most frequently used are modified CTAB and DNeasy Plant Mini Kit protocols. Nine selected protocols in this chapter have been successfully used for high-quality DNA extraction from different kinds of plant herbarium tissues. These methods differ primarily with respect to their requirements for input material (from algae to vascular plants), type of the plant tissue (leaves with incrustations, sclerenchyma strands, mucilaginous tissues, needles, seeds), and further possible applications (PCR-based methods or microsatellites, AFLP).
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Rogers SO (1994) Phylogenetic and taxonomic information from herbarium and mumified DNA. In: Adams RP et al (eds) Conservation of plant genes II.: utilization of ancient and modern DNA. Miss Bot Gard, Monogr, Missouri Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis, vol 48
Tailor JW, Swann EC (1994) Dried samples: soft tissues, DNA from herbarium specimens. In: Herrmann B, Hummel S (eds) Ancient DNA. Springer, Verlag
Hall DW (1981) Microwave: a method to control herbarium insects. Taxon 30:818–819
Hill SR (1983) Microwave and the herbarium specimen: potential dangers. Taxon 32:614–615
Bacci M, Checcuccii A, Checcuccii G, Palandek MR (1983) Microwave drying of herbarium specimens. Taxon 34:649–653
Metsger DA, Byers SC (1999) Managing the modern herbarium, an interdisciplinary approach. Society for the preservation of natural history collections, Washington DC, p 384
Rogers SO, Bendich AJ (1994) Extraction of total cellular DNA from plants, algae, and fungi. In: Gelvin SB, Schilperoort RA (eds) Plant Molecular Biology Manual, 2nd ed., Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht. The Netherlands D1:1–8
Doyle JJ, Doyle JL (1987) A rapid DNA isolation procedure for small quantities of fresh leaf tissue. Phytochem Bull 19:11–15
Ribeiro RA, Lovato MB (2007) Comparative analysis of different DNA extraction protocols in fresh and herbarium specimens of the genus Dalbergia. Genet Mol Res 6:173–187
Agostini G, Lüdtke R, Echeverrigaray S, de Souz-Chies TT (2011) Genomic DNA extraction from herbarium samples of Cunila D. Royen ex L. (Lamiaceae) and Polygala L. (Polygalaceae). Conserv Genet Resour 3:37–39
Wittzell H (1999) Chloroplast DNA variation and reticulate evolution in sexual and apomictic sections of dandelions. Mol Ecol 8:2023–2035
Ristaino JB, Groves CT, Parra GR (2001) PCR amplification of the Irish potato famine pathogen from historic specimens. Nature 411(6838):695–697
Drábková L, Kirschner J, Vlček Č (2002) Historical herbarium specimens in molecular taxonomy of the Juncaceae: a comparison of DNA extraction and amplification protocols. Plant Mol Biol Rep 20(2):161–175
De Castro O, Menale B (2004) PCR amplification of Michele Tenore’s historical specimens and facility to utilize an alternative approach to resolve taxonomic problems. Taxon 53:147–151
Jankowiak K, Buczkowska K, Szweykowska-Kulinska Z (2005) Successful extraction of DNA from 100-year-old herbarium specimens of the liverwort Bazzania trilobata. Taxon 54:335–336
Asif MJ, Cannon CH (2005) DNA extraction from processed wood: a case study for identification of an endangered timber species (Gonystylus bancanus). Plant Mol Biol Rep 23(2):185–192
Erkens RHJ, Cross H, Maas JW, Hoenselaar K, Chatrou LW (2008) Assessment of age and greenness of herbarium specimens as predictors for successful extraction and amplification of DNA. Blumea 53:407–428
Lister DL, Bower MA, Howe CJ, Jones MK (2008) Extraction and amplification of nuclear DNA from herbarium specimens of emmer wheat: a method for assessing DNA preservation by maximum amplicon length recovery. Taxon 57:254–258
Andreasen K, Manktelow M, Razafimandimbison SG (2009) Successful DNA amplification of a more than 200-year-old herbarium specimen: recovering genetic material from the Linnaean era. Taxon 58:959–962
Poczai P, Taller J, Szabo I (2009) Molecular genetic study of a historical Solanum (Solanaceae) herbarium specimen collected by Paulus Kitaibel in the 18th century. Acta Bot Hung 51:337–346
Sohrabi M, Myllis L, Soili S (2010) Successful DNA sequencing of a 75 year-old herbarium specimen of Aspicilia aschabadensis (J. Steiner) Mereschk. Lichenologist 42:626–628
Walters C, Reilley AA, Reeves PA, Baszczak J, Richards CM (2006) The utility of aged seeds in DNA banks. Seed Sci Res 16:169–178
Csaikl UM, Bastion H, Brettschneider R, Gauch S, Metr A, Schauerte M, Schulz F, Sperisen C, Vornam B, Ziegenhagen B (1998) Comparative analysis of different DNA extraction protocols: a fast, universal maxi-preparation of high quality plant DNA for genetic evaluation and phylogenetic studies. Plant Mol Biol Rep 16:69–86
Lambertini C, Frydenberg J, Gustafsson MHG, Brix H (2008) Herbarium specimens as a source of DNA for AFLP fingerprinting of Phragmites (Poaceae): possibilities and limitations. Pl Syst Evol 272:224–231
Shepherd LD, McLay TGB (2011) Two micro-scale protocols for the isolation of DNA from polysaccharide-rich plant tissue. J Plant Res 124:311–314
Cota-Sánchez JH, Remarchuk K, Ubayasena K (2006) Ready-to-use DNA extracted with a CTAB method adapted for herbarium specimens and mucilaginous plant tissue. Plant Mol Biol Rep 24:161–167
Cubero OF, Crespo A, Fatehi J, Bridge PD (1999) DNA extraction and PCR amplification method suitable for fresh, herbarium-stored, lichenized, and other fungi. Pl Syst Evol 216:243–249
Ivanova NV, Dewaard JR, Hebert PDN (2006) An inexpensive, automation-friendly protocol for recovering high-quality DNA. Mol Ecol Notes 6:998–1002
Dentinger BTM, Margaritescu S, Moncalvo J-M (2010) Rapid and reliable high-throughput methods of DNA extraction for use in barcoding and molecular systematics of mushrooms. Mol Ecol 10:628–633
Hoarau G, Coyer JA, Stam TW, Olsen JL (2007) A fast and inexpensive DNA extraction/purification protocol for brown macroalgae. Mol Ecol Notes 7:191–193
Malenica N, Šimon S, Besendorfer V, Malecić E, Kontić JK, Pejić I (2011) Whole genome amplification and microsatellite genotyping of herbarium DNA revealed the identity of an ancient grapevine cultivar. Naturwissenschaften 98:763–772
Acknowledgement
The study was supported by GAČR 206/07/P147, GAČR P506/11/0774, and Institutional Research Plan AV0Z60050516.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2014 Springer New York
About this protocol
Cite this protocol
Drábková, L.Z. (2014). DNA Extraction from Herbarium Specimens. In: Besse, P. (eds) Molecular Plant Taxonomy. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1115. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-62703-767-9_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-62703-767-9_4
Published:
Publisher Name: Humana Press, Totowa, NJ
Print ISBN: 978-1-62703-766-2
Online ISBN: 978-1-62703-767-9
eBook Packages: Springer Protocols