Abstract

Extraction of high quality RNA from Aspergillus niger mycelia, a tissue very rich in ribonucleases was achieved using a protocol involving the use of TRIZOL reagent and the ribonuclease inhibitor (RNaseOUT). RNA was successfully isolated using this protocol that involved addition of RNaseOUT at the initial homogenizing step and the final dilution/ solubilisation steps of the RNA extraction. A sharply distinguished 18S and 28S subunits of the RNA extracted were visualised on agarose gel electrophoregrams with high yield. The RNA extracted was tested for reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and was found viable. This paper presents an efficient protocol for RNA extraction from Aspergillus niger mycelia which is an improvement on the TRIZOL reagent protocol for RNA which has never been described.

Key words: Aspergillus niger, RNA, ribonuclease inhibitor.