FIELD PRESERVATION OF MARINE INVERTEBRATE TISSUE FOR DNA ANALYSES

Successful preservation of tissue samples is a prerequisite for long f ield studies in remote areas. However, there is little published infor mation concerning field preservation of marine invertebrate tissues fo r DNA analyses. This omission is significant because marine biodiversi ty is centered in the Indo-Pacific, where immediate DNA analysis is of ten impossible. Consequently, we used an assay based on polymerase cha in reaction (PCR) to examine the effect of five storage solutions and three temperature regimens on the degradation of DNA from four common classes of marine invertebrates (Anthozoa, Gastropoda, Polychaeta, and Scyphozoa). Control samples were cryopreserved. Storage solution and the type of tissue preserved were the best predictors of preservation success. The length of time in storage and the storage temperature als o affected the preservation of DNA. A field test demonstrates that a s olution of dimethylsulfoxide and sodium chloride (DMSO-NaCl) preserves a wide range of tissues for DNA analyses and is very simple to use in remote field locations.