Notes: The authors developed a PCR method to detect the presence of meat and bone meal (MBM) in animal feed even if the MBM had been heat treated, and discern whether the animal component is bovine or porcine in origin. The genomic DNA from 100mg of various feedstuffs with known and unknown amounts of MBM, fishmeal or poultry feed or a combination of these compounds was isolated using the Wizard^® Magnetic DNA Purification System for Food with the KingFisher System. Real-time PCR was performed using 5μl of extracted DNA. (3750)

Notes: Researchers used the Wizard^® Genomic DNA Purification Kit to isolate genomic DNA from non-Agrobacterium field bacteria samples. The isolated genomic DNA was used in PCR to amplify regions of the 16S rRNA gene. The PCR products were cleaned up using the Wizard^® SV Gel and PCR Clean-Up System and used in sequencing reactions. The paper also mentions the use of the Wizard^® Magnetic DNA Purification System for Food to isolate Agrobacterium radiobacter from cucumber root mats grown in the lab. (3190)

Notes: This study describes the development of a system that can rapidly and accurately detect traces of biological agents from environmental samples. Using Erwinia herbicola and Bacillus subtilis var. niger as models for potential biological warfare agents, a method for DNA extraction using the Wizard^® Magnetic DNA Purification System for Food, MagneSil^® Blood Genomic, Max Yield System and a combination of the two was automated on a Beckman Coulter Biomek^® FX robotic liquid handling system. The isolated DNA was used in a Taqman^® real-time PCR assay that specifically amplified and identified DNA species. The ability of the MagneSil^®-based DNA purification technology to eliminate PCR inhibitors was also evaluated. Various soil samples, surface swabs and air samples were mixed with bacterial cultures to see if any contaminants present in the samples inhibited PCR. It was found that the modified MagneSil^® method described here eliminated many PCR inhibitors. (3094)