A Minimally Invasive, Automated Procedure for DNA Extraction from Epidermal Peels of Succulent Cacti (Cactaceae)

Abstract

Here we present a method which combines bypassing the mucilage content of cacti by using dissected epidermis with a semi-automated kit with high quality results. This method is suitable for automation, provides yields sufficient for next-generation sequencing applications such as RAD-seq or whole genome resequencing, and can be implemented with minimal damage to rare or threatened taxa. This method complements methods such as DNA extraction from spines, which yields lower quality DNA suitable for microsatellite analysis and sequencing of high-copy number loci but not suitable for genomic approaches, and extractions from roots, which avoids mucilage and gives high quality DNA but is more destructive. METHOD