[Taxacom] specimen storage in ethanol: methylethyketon

[Alex Borisenko]

Dear Donat,

We have had no experience with 2% Methylethylketon, however, the reagent 
Ethanol we use contains ca. 5% of Methyl ethanol and 5% of Isopropyl 
ethanol (the remainder 90% being ETOH proper). This has worked for us 
for the past few years as a medium for field preservation of 
invertebrates (including arthropods) and yielded DNA of sufficient 
quality to analyze 650 base pair fragments of the mitochondrial genome. 
Please note, however, that Ethanol SHOULD NOT be considered as a 
long-term solution for DNA archival - as of yet, there is no proven 
substitute for cryopreservation!

Best wishes,
Alex



Donat Agosti wrote:
> Storage of specimens in ethanol
>
> I would appreciate to know whether the 2% Methylethylketon added to Ethanol
> has an effect on the usability of specimen for DNA work?
>
> Methylethylketon is used to make Ethanol not palatable for human.
>
> Thanks
>
> Donat
>
>
> Dr. Donat Agosti
> Science Consultant
> Research Associate, American Museum of Natural History and Naturmuseum der
> Burgergemeinde Bern
> Email: agosti at amnh.org
> Web: http://antbase.org
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-- 
____________________________________________

Alex Borisenko, Ph.D.
Curator of zoological collections
Biodiversity Institute of Ontario
University of Guelph
579 Gordon Street
Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1
Phone: +1 519 824-4120 ext. 54834
Fax: +1 519 824-5703
E-mail: aborisen at uoguelph.ca
http://www.dnabarcoding.ca/
http://www.barcodinglife.org/