Irfan Mustafa, Hadiatullah, Sustiyah
The amplification of environmental DNA is one of the main steps in microbial diversity profiling of environmental samples. To represent the microbial community in the soil, DNA extraction is initially needed. The major inhibitor in the soil is a humic acid which greatly inhibits the ability of enzymes to amplify DNA. The protocol provided with the commercial kit was not able to resolve the problem. We, therefore, introduced a modification for soil sample treatment with AlCl3 as a flocculating agent that is capable of removing the humic substance contained in peat soil. This technique was superior to the original instruction for extracting DNA with the FastDNA® Spin Kit for Soil (MP Bio, USA). © 2017 Author(s).
Biology Department, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Brawijaya University, Indonesia; Agronomy Department, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Palangkaraya, Indonesia
