Simple protocol to extract DNA from bone fragments-A preliminary study

Abstract

DNA extraction from bone samples is greatly useful for forensic applications but it is more diffi cult to be conducted compared with extracting DNA from other tissues due to rigid structure of the bones and contamination from the environment, such as, bacterial colonization within bone tissues. This research aimed to determine a simple and cost-effective protocol for extracting DNA from bone fragments. Canine leg bones were used as samples and canine Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) gene-specifi c primers were used to confi rm successful DNA extraction through PCR. We developed a protocol that was able to extract DNA from “fresh” as well as “old” bones that had been buried in soil or stored underwater in a pond for three months. Although the effectiveness decreased in the old bones, this protocol only requires common devices and chemicals readily available in general molecular laboratories and can be completed in less than 24 hours, offering an alternative lower-cost and less time intensive method for forensic research.