RAPID MINIPREP ISOLATION OF MITOCHONDRIAL-DNA FROM METACESTODES, AND FREE-LIVING AND PARASITIC NEMATODES

A method, based on one to isolate supercoiled plasmid DNA from bacteri al cells, has been developed to purify mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from cestode and nematode tissue easily and efficiently. Starting with as l ittle as 100 mg of helminth tissue, sufficient mtDNA for electrophoret ic analysis was extracted. This DNA was essentially free of nuclear DN A and readily digested by restriction endonucleases. Approximately 20% of the mtDNA in helminth tissue was recovered, which is a significant improvement over previously available techniques.