Application Note: Detection of the Bacterial 16S rDNA Gene from Soil Samples using the Omni Soil DNA Purification Mini Kit Brandon
31 July 2017

A popular method to determine the microorganisms present in soil is to extract and amplify the microbial DNA. However, this can be problematic as soil is rich in substances which can inhibit polymerases and restriction enzymes. This application note evaluates the Omni Soil DNA Purification Mini kit’s ability to extract DNA from a soil sample using the Bead Ruptor 24 Elite for mechanical dissociation of the soil/microbe samples prior to PCR inhibitor removal and DNA purification. It concludes that using the kit in combination with the Bead Ruptor 24 Elite gives a high yield of microbial DNA from challenging soil samples and removed PCR inhibitors.