Molecular Research Center Technical Bulletin No. 5

GENOMIC DNA ISOLATION FROM MOUSE TAIL CLIPS USING DNAZOL^®
Karol Mackey, Molecular Research Center, Inc.

A common method for evaluating the genotype of transgenic mice involves harvesting small tail clips for DNA analysis. A simple method for isolating DNA from mouse tail is presented here. Add minced tissue (20 - 40 mg) or a small amount of whole tissue (less than 20 mg) to 1.0 ml of DNAzol^®(cat. no. DN 127) containing 20 µl of proteinase K (20 mg/ml). Incubate the solution overnight at 22 - 37 C. If desired, add 4 µg of RNase to the solution for the last hour of the incubation. Following incubation, centrifuge samples according to the DNAzol protocol at 10,000 g for 10 minutes at 4 °C. Continue according to the DNAzol protocol for the rest of the procedure.
This application using DNAzol produces 0.4 - 3.0 µg DNA per mg mouse tail tissue. Isolated DNA is appropriate for restriction digestion and PCR analysis.