RNA Isolation - M.trossulus Phenol Gland and Gill

As part of a mussel project that Matt George has with the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission (PSMFC), I’m helping by continuing isolating RNA from a relatively large number of samples. The samples are listed/described in this GitHub Issue. Today, I isolated RNA from the following samples (the “F” indicates “foot”, “PG” indicates “phenol gland”, and “G” indicates “gill” tissues):

  • T07-F PG

  • T08-F PG

  • T09-F PG

  • T10-F PG

  • T11-F PG

  • T12-F PG

  • T01-G

  • T02-G

  • T03-G

  • T04-G

  • T05-G

  • T06-G

  • T07-G

  • T08-G

  • T09-G

  • T10-G

  • T11-G

  • T12-G

  • T126-F PG

  • T127-F PG

  • T128-F PG

  • T129-F PG

  • T130-F PG

  • T131-F PG

  • T132-F PG

  • T133-F PG

  • T134-F PG

  • T135-F PG

  • T136-F PG

  • T137-F PG

RNA was isolated using RNAzol RT and the Direct-zol RNA Microprep Kit (ZymoResearch), with the DNase I on-column treatment step. Foot tissues were allowed to partially thaw to allow me to unfold/unbend the foot and dissect the phenol gland (essentially the most distal end of the foot) with a new razor blade. For gill tissue, small portions of frozen gill tissue were removed from tubes, placed in RNAzol RT and immediately homoegnized. Forceps were rinsed in distilled H2O, soaked in 10% bleach solution for 10mins, and then rinsed in distilled H2O before re-use. All centrifugation steps were performed at 16,000g for 1.5mins. Here’s a brief overview of the process.

Tissues were homogenized in 500uL of TriReagent with “disposable” platic mortar/pestle tubes (1.5mL). After homogenization, an additional 500uL of TriReagent was added to the tube, vortexed and incubated at RT for 10mins. Insoluble debris was pelleted and supernatant was transferred to a 2.0mL tube. An equal volume (1mL) of 100% ethanol was added to this supernatant and mixed thoroughly by pipetting. Direct-zol Microprep Kit protocol was followed from here on, including on-column DNase I treatment. Gill samples were eluted with 100uL of H2O, while phenol gland tissues were eluted with 50uL.

RNA was quantified using the Roberts Lab Qubit 3.0 using the Qubit RNA High Sensitivity assay.

All RNA was stored @ -80oC in Sam’s RNA Box #2.


RESULTS

Raw Qubit data (Google Sheet):

Summary table:

sample tissue concentration(ng/uL) volume(uL) yield(ng)
T07-F PG phenol gland 146 100 14600
T08-F PG phenol gland 66.4 50 3320
T09-F PG phenol gland 114 50 5700
T10-F PG phenol gland 74.2 50 3710
T11-F PG phenol gland 138 50 6900
T12-F PG phenol gland 152 50 7600
T01-G gill 28 100 2800
T02-G gill 148 100 14800
T03-G gill 65.4 100 6540
T04-G gill 126 100 12600
T05-G gill 160 100 16000
T06-G gill 118 100 11800
T07-G gill 106 100 10600
T08-G gill 132 100 13200
T09-G gill 130 100 13000
T10-G gill 85.6 100 8560
T11-G gill 112 100 11200
T12-G gill 132 100 13200
T126-F PG phenol gland 23.8 50 1190
T127-F PG phenol gland 36.6 50 1830
T128-F PG phenol gland 57.6 50 2880
T129-F PG phenol gland 52.2 50 2610
T130-F PG phenol gland 12.2 50 610
T131-F PG phenol gland 21.8 50 1090
T132-F PG phenol gland 75.6 50 3780
T133-F PG phenol gland 69.4 50 3470
T134-F PG phenol gland 62.8 50 3140
T135-F PG phenol gland 43 50 2150
T136-F PG phenol gland 55.2 50 2760
T137-F PG phenol gland 92.8 50 4640