/PRNewswire/ - Norgen Biotek Corp., an innovative Canadian biotechnology company focusing primarily on advancing powerful tools for RNA, DNA and protein purifications, today announced the expansion of its product offerings by launching four new kits geared towards the isolation of RNA and DNA from plants and fungi for research and diagnostic applications. In response to customer demands and emerging needs Norgen developed this new line of kits which are all available in spin-column formats as well as in 96-well plate formats for high throughput applications. The new kits include:
1- The Plant/Fungi RNA Purification Kit: 2- The Plant/Fungi DNA Isolation Kit: These kits provide rapid methods for the isolation and purification of total RNA and genomic DNA respectively from a wide range of plant and filamentous fungal species. The Plant/Fungi RNA Purification Kit isolates all sizes of RNA, from large mRNA and ribosomal RNA down to microRNA. The purified RNA is of the highest integrity, and can be used in a number of downstream applications including Real-Time PCR, reverse transcription PCR, Northern blotting, RNase protection and primer extension, and expression array assays. With the Plant/Fungi DNA Isolation Kit total DNA is isolated including genomic DNA, mitochondrial DNA and chloroplast DNA. The purified DNA can be used in a number of downstream applications including Real-Time PCR, Southern blotting and sequencing. 3- The Plant RNA/DNA Purification Kit: This novel kit enables scientists to isolate total RNA, including microRNA, and genomic DNA simultaneously from a single plant sample. This approach cuts down on the number of extractions during the screening for plant pathogens. 4- The Direct Fungal DNA Isolation Kit: This kit allows for the rapid isolation and purification of genomic DNA from the fungi found on the surface of symptomatic plant samples. A major benefit of this kit is that it does not require the use of physical homogenization steps to isolate the fungal DNA, which are often time consuming and tedious procedures. While a mortar and pestle, a rotor-stator homogenizer or bead mills associated with liquid nitrogen may enhance the DNA extraction yield, they are not suitable methods for use in the analysis of large numbers of samples, and in the area of pathogen diagnosis simple and convenient sample preparation steps are a critical factor in supporting high throughput analysis. The procedure yields sufficient fungal DNA to be used in a number of downstream applications including Real-Time PCR, sequencing, Southern blotting and SNP analysis and the total procedure can be completed less than 60 minutes. "Our new line of kits to isolate RNA and DNA from plants represents an exciting addition to our high quality novel products. We listened to the demands of our customers and developed kits geared towards current market needs. We are confident that these kits will enable researchers in all areas of plant research, particularly in plant diagnostics" said Dr. Haj-Ahmad, President & CEO of Norgen Biotek.