RNA Isolation - M.trossulus Gill and Phenol Gland

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):

  • T118-F_PG

  • T119-F_PG

  • T14-F_PG

  • T15-F_PG

  • T16-F_PG

  • T17-F_PG

  • T19-F_PG

  • T21-F_PG

  • T23-F_PG

  • T25-F_PG

  • T26-F_PG

  • T27-F_PG

  • T118-G

  • T119-G

  • T14-G

  • T15-G

  • T16-G

  • T17-G

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. All samples were eluted with 100uL of H2O.

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 #3.


RESULTS

Raw Qubit data (Google Sheet):

SUMMARY TABLE:

sample concentration(ng/uL) volume(uL) yield(ng)
T118-F_PG 150 25 3750
T119-F_PG 96 100 9600
T14-F_PG 29.4 100 2940
T15-F_PG 45.8 100 4580
T16-F_PG 83.8 100 8380
T17-F_PG 63.6 100 6360
T19-F_PG 44.2 100 4420
T21-F_PG 124 100 12400
T23-F_PG 132 100 13200
T25-F_PG 28.8 100 2880
T26-F_PG 38.6 100 3860
T27-F_PG 34.2 100 3420
T118-G 82 100 8200
T119-G 54.6 100 5460
T14-G 162 100 16200
T15-G 96.2 100 9620
T16-G 46.8 100 4680
T17-G 194 100 19400