RNA Storage : Short and Long-term Storage

[bioinfofreak]

RNA Storage

*RNA may be stored in several ways.
Short Term Storage

*Store RNA in RNase-free H2O (with 0.1 mM EDTA) or TE buffer (10 mM Tris, 1mM EDTA).

*RNA is stable at -80° C for up to a year without degradation.

*Note that Magnesium and other metals can catalyze non-specific cleavage of RNA. These can be chelated by the addition of EDTA if RNA is to be stored and retrieved intact.

* Important!: use an EDTA solution known to be RNase-free for this purpose (older EDTA solutions may have microbial growth which could contaminate the RNA sample with nucleases).

* RNA solubilized in formamide solution can be stored at -20°C without degradation for at least 1 year (Chomczynski, 1992).


Long Term Storage of RNA

RNA samples may be stored at -20°C as ethanol precipitates for long periods of time.

However, accessing these on a routine basis can be a nuisance, as the precipitates must be pelleted and dissolved in an aqueous buffer or water (Rnase-free) before pipetting.

[moleculardude]

Thank you for a helpful protocol!

[khalsakh]

hi

i worked on RNA ONLY, for 3.5 years.... it was very hectic time but at some how v interesting.. if u need any help that i can offer i am welling to do,, and every body is wellcome....

[admin]

Hello Khalsakh!

that is great news! we really need more RNA people. Any recommendations on storing RNA?

[khalsakh]

hi ...

I used to store the cell line pellete in ultraspec after isolating the wbcs by ficoll. Then store it at -80. whenever i need the RNA i extract some aliquote from the pellete. I was using the samples for a research, therefore i need sometimes later to go back and extract some more. This procedure takes longe time BUT keeps us in a very safe side not to loose the samples after a while due to the RNAase activity. I am still keeping the pelletes till now( 5 years since taking the samples)....

[moleculardude]

Great information Khalsakh!
Wow 5 years of RNA storage is amazing!!

thanks for sharing. Do you use formaldehyde to store DNA or not?

thanks