A Rapid and Economical Method for Efficient DNA Extraction from Diverse Soils Suitable for Metagenomic Applications.

A rapid, cost effective method of metagenomic DNA extraction from soil is a useful tool for environmental microbiology. The present work describes an improved method of DNA extraction namely "powdered glass method" from diverse soils. The method involves the use of sterile glass powder for cell lysis followed by addition of 1% powdered activated charcoal (PAC) as purifying agent to remove humic substances.

Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of three freshwater microalgal strains.

Microalgal transformation has gained interest in recent years. Agrobacterium-mediated transformation remains as the most efficient method for the development of transgenic plants and microalgae due to its wide host range, inexpensive procedure and transfer of large segments of DNA. In the present study, three different microalgal species were isolated from freshwater environment and identified based on the morphological characteristics and ITS-2 region amplification.