ABSTRACTS:

TITLE: PCR DNA TYPING OF STAMPS: EVALUATION OF THE DNA EXTRACTION
AUTHOR: F. FRIDEZ , R. COQUOZ
JOURNAL: FORENSIC SCI INT 1996 Apr 2;78(2):103-10
ABSTRACT: Today, the PCR analysis of DNA from the saliva deposited on a stamp of an anonymous letter can lead to an identification. However, this analysis still involves problems, and DNA extraction can be particularly difficult. A comparative study of two DNA extraction methods with two categories of postage stamps was carried out and a purification process was tested. This study shows that the extraction with phenol/chloroform gives much better results than Chelex extraction. A purification process such as the use of Centricon 100 microconcentrators is recommended when an inhibition of PCR is present. This operation, however, results in a large loss of material.

TITLE: EXTRACTION, PCR AMPLIFICATION AND SEQUENCING OF MITOCHONDRIAL DNA FROM HUMAN HAIR SHAFTS
AUTHOR: M.R. WILSON , ET ALS.
JOURNAL: BIOTECHNIQUES 1995 Apr;18(4):662-9
ABSTRACT: Techniques have been developed for extracting, amplifying and directly sequencing mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from human hair shafts. The hair shaft is ground in a glass micro-tissue grinder, and the DNA is extracted with organic solvent and purified by filtration. The filtrate subsequently provides the mtDNA template for the PCR. The two hypervariable segments of the mtDNA control region are amplified in four separate reactions. After a purification step to remove unincorporated PCR primers, amplified products are quantitated by capillary electrophoresis and subjected to cycle sequencing. The products are separated and analyzed on an automated DNA sequencer. The mtDNA sequences from the hair shaft match the mtDNA sequences from blood samples taken from the same donor.

ARTICLE TITLE: EXTRACTION OF DNA-BINDING PROTEINS FROM CRYOGENICALLY PRESERVED CELLS
AUTHOR: H. TORRANCE, ET ALS.
JOURNAL: BIOTECHNIQUES 1993 Jul;15(1):59-62, 64
ABSTRACT: We demonstrate that DNA-binding protein extracts can be effectively prepared directly from tissue culture cells preserved under liquid nitrogen without returning the cells to culture. We prepared DNA-binding protein extracts directly upon thawing of T47D, Jurkat and CAC-L153S cell lines after storage in liquid nitrogen for periods of up to one year. Our results show that DNA binding of a repressor of mouse mammary tumor virus transcription in these extracts is indistinguishable from binding activity in similar extracts prepared from cells maintained in culture.