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The utility of aged seeds in DNA banks

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 February 2007

Christina Walters ,
Ann A. Reilley ,
Patrick A. Reeves ,
Jennifer Baszczak  and
Christopher M. Richards
Christina Walters*
Affiliation:
USDA-ARS National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation, Fort Collins, CO 80521, USA
Ann A. Reilley
Affiliation:
USDA-ARS National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation, Fort Collins, CO 80521, USA
Patrick A. Reeves
Affiliation:
USDA-ARS National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation, Fort Collins, CO 80521, USA
Jennifer Baszczak
Affiliation:
USDA-ARS National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation, Fort Collins, CO 80521, USA
Christopher M. Richards
Affiliation:
USDA-ARS National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation, Fort Collins, CO 80521, USA
*
*Correspondence: Fax: +1 970 221 1427, Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

The long-term utility of DNA banks is predicated on the stability of DNA during storage. The quality and yield of DNA extracted from seeds from four garden species, which varied in age from 1 to 135 years old, was used to examine the early stages of DNA degradation. Seeds that were 70 years old yielded high molecular weight DNA, which permitted amplification of a 650 bp segment of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the nuclear ribosomal DNA and a 487 bp segment of the plastid-encoded large subunit of rubisco (rbcL). DNA extracted from seeds estimated to be about 135 years old was degraded, but still permitted amplification when routine extraction procedures were used. The rbcL sequences obtained from c. 135-year-old cucurbit seed DNA were consistent with species identifications based on seed morphological features; however, ITS sequences from the same samples were determined to be of fungal origin. A comparison of our results with studies of DNA stability in leaf specimens suggested that DNA degraded within both tissues, but perhaps more slowly within seeds. Evidence that high-quality DNA can be extracted from old, non-viable seeds expands the utility of seed banks in preserving genetic resources.

Keywords

DNA banksgenetic resourcesITS sequencesribosomal DNArubiscoseed ageingseed DNA stability
Type
Research Article
Information
Seed Science Research , Volume 16 , Issue 3 , September 2006 , pp. 169 - 178
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2006

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