Traditional
RNA
extraction
methods
rely
on
the
use
of
hazardous
chemicals
such
as
phenol,
chloroform,
guanidinium
thiocyanate
to
disrupt
cells
and
inactivate
RNAse
simultaneously.
RNA
isolation
from
Caenorhabditis
elegans
presents
another
challenge
due
to
its
tough
cuticle,
therefore
several
repeated
freeze
–
thaw
cycles
may
be
needed
to
disrupt
the
cuticle
before
the
cell
contents
are
released.
In
addition,
a
large
number
of
animals
are
required
for
successful
RNA
isolation.
To
overcome
these
issues,
we
have
developed
a
simple
and
ef
fi
cient
method
using
proteinase
K
and
a
brief
heat
treatment
to
release
RNA
of
quality
suitable
for
quantitative
PCR
analysis.The
bene
fi
ts
of
the
method
are:
Faster
and
safer
compared
to
conventional
RNA
extraction
methods
Released
RNA
can
be
used
directly
for
cDNA
synthesis
without
puri
fi
cation
As
little
as
a
single
worm
is
suf
fi
cien