biostudies-literatureUnknown58(1)Yee W2-mercaptoethanol (2-ME), alongside polyvinylpyrrolidone is commonly used in plant DNA extractions to deal with polyphenols, which could interfere with extraction and downstream applications. 2-ME is also commonly used to denature proteins and nucleases, especially RNAses. On the contrary, we found that the presence of 2-ME in lysis buffer interfered with DNA extraction from 12 strains of freshwater microalgae, resulting in DNA with poor integrity. We also found that the TNES-urea buffer, commonly used for preservation and DNA extraction from fish, appears as effective as the SDS and CTAB buffer for some microalgae strains. Results from our study suggests that the inclusion of 2-ME in DNA extraction protocols may be detrimental for isolation of good quality DNA from freshwater microalgae, Indian journal of microbiology109-113https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC5801187biostudies-literatureInclusion of 2-Mercaptoethanol in Lysis Buffer Could Interfere with Isolation of High Molecular Weight DNA from Freshwater Microalgae.PMC5801187Yee WKumar JNMuthusamy PDfalseInclusion of 2-Mercaptoethanol in Lysis Buffer Could Interfere with Isolation of High Molecular Weight DNA from Freshwater Microalgae.2-mercaptoethanol (2-ME), alongside polyvinylpyrrolidone is commonly used in plant DNA extractions to deal with polyphenols, which could interfere with extraction and downstream applications. 2-ME is also commonly used to denature proteins and nucleases, especially RNAses. On the contrary, we found that the presence of 2-ME in lysis buffer interfered with DNA extraction from 12 strains of freshwater microalgae, resulting in DNA with poor integrity. We also found that the TNES-urea buffer, commonly used for preservation and DNA extraction from fish, appears as effective as the SDS and CTAB buffer for some microalgae strains. Results from our study suggests that the inclusion of 2-ME in DNA extraction protocols may be detrimental for isolation of good quality DNA from freshwater microalgae, 2018-01-01T00:00:00Z2018 Mar2026-05-01T21:43:50.017Z2019-06-06T18:55:00ZS-EPMC58011872943440510.1007/s12088-017-0698-5