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.. _DNAex_soil:
Soil
****
The DNA extraction procedure follows the lab SOP for the 'Characterization of Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic
Biodiversity from Soil Samples' (Chaves et al., 2025a)
within `Biodiversity Genomics Europe `_ project.
This is mirror for the workflow hosted in `WorkflowHub `_
*(which hosts the downloadable PDF).*
**Qiagen MagAttract® PowerSoil® Pro DNA Kit** extraction
method to isolate eDNA from soil samples using the KingFisher Apex
instrument, following both the provider's protocol and adjustments from
the `Earth Microbiome Project's High Throughput DNA extraction
protocol `_.
Equipment and Consumables
-------------------------
+-----------------------------------------+-------------------+----------+
| Items | Quantity | Storage |
+=========================================+===================+==========+
| Soil samples | 250 mg per sample | -20°C |
+-----------------------------------------+-------------------+----------+
| Qiagen MagAttract PowerSoil Pro DNA Kit | | |
+-----------------------------------------+-------------------+----------+
| - Solution CD2 | | 2-8º |
+-----------------------------------------+-------------------+----------+
| - Other reagents | | 15-25ºC |
+-----------------------------------------+-------------------+----------+
| Proteinase K (PK) | | -20 ºC |
+-----------------------------------------+-------------------+----------+
|| PowerBead Pro Plates or PowerBead || 1 for 96 samples || 15-25ºC |
|| Pro Tubes || or 1 per sample || |
+-----------------------------------------+-------------------+----------+
|| Consumables for KingFisher*: || || |
|| 96 deep-well plates || 6 for 96 samples || |
|| 96-tip combs for deep-well magnets || 1 for 96 samples || |
|| 96 microplates (200 µL) || 1 for 96 samples || |
+-----------------------------------------+-------------------+----------+
| Laminar flow hood | | |
+-----------------------------------------+-------------------+----------+
| Vortex + adaptors | | |
+-----------------------------------------+-------------------+----------+
| Reservoirs with lid | 4 | |
+-----------------------------------------+-------------------+----------+
| 80% Ethanol | 1500µL per sample | |
+-----------------------------------------+-------------------+----------+
| 100% ethanol | for Buffer QSB1 | |
+-----------------------------------------+-------------------+----------+
| 100% Isopropanol | for Buffer MW1 | |
+-----------------------------------------+-------------------+----------+
| Low-bind microplate | 1 for 96 samples | |
+-----------------------------------------+-------------------+----------+
\* Thermo Scientific KingFisher Apex Purification System
Working space
-------------
- Dedicated DNA extraction room or laminar flow hood.
- Clean the working space and material with disinfectant and ethanol and
leave the UV-light on for at least 15 mins.
- For each 96 extraction plate leave at least one well for a PCR
negative control (PNC) per plate. And add one extraction negative
control (ENC) per batch (e.g 46 samples + 1 ENC)
- Use **extra-long** pipette tips (1000–1250 µL);
- Use filtered tips at all steps.
DNA extraction
--------------
.. admonition:: Preparation
- Turn on the oven at 65ºC or directly to 56ºC if not proceeding with step 2;
- For each 96-well plate to be processed:
- **add 400 µL RNase A Solution to 80 mL Solution CD1;**
1. Spin the PowerBead Pro Tubes with the sample and add **800 µL Solution CD1/RNase A** to each tube.
*Note: if 250 mg of dry soil sample absorbs all the liquid from the
tube (no supernatant left), then lower the amount of soil in this
sample.*
2. Incubate samples at 65ºC for 10 mins.
*Note: This step is optional but can improve lysis efficiency*
3. Homogenize samples thoroughly using a vortex with a horizontal tube
adapter for **25 min at maximum speed**.
4. Spin the tubes, add **25 µL of PK** (20 mg/mL) to each tube and
vortex for 30s.
5. Spin the PowerBead Pro Tubes, and incubate at 56ºC for at least 3h (can be incubated overnight).
.. admonition:: After incubation
- prepare Buffer QSB1 and Buffer MW1 according to the instructions on
the bottles;
- Prepare fresh 80% ethanol;
- Prepare a reservoir with CD2 Solution, 30mL per full plate of
extractions.
| 6. Centrifuge the PowerBead Pro Tubes **at 15000 x g for 1 min**.
|
| 7. Transfer the supernatant to the CMTRs and add **300 µL Solution CD2** to each well of CMTRs. Pipette up and down 3-5 times to thoroughly mix after supernatant addition to each well.
|
| *Note: Expect 500-600 µL. The supernatant may still contain some soil particles.*
|
| 8. Seal the CMTRs with the caps provided and then vortex. Centrifuge the CMTRs at **4500 x g for 6 min** at room temperature.
|
| 9. Taking care to avoid any residual pellet, transfer the supernatant from each well to a clean KingFisher deep-well 96 plate. Expect to recover 650-700µL maximum.
|
| 10. Resuspend MagAttract Suspension G Beads by vortexing. For each 96-well plate to be processed, add **3 mL of the resuspended MagAttract Suspension G Beads to 44 mL Buffer QSB1** and mix well. Immediately transfer to a multichannel pipette reservoir.
|
| *Note: Maintain the MagAttract Suspension G Beads in suspension (by pipetting up and down several times) to ensure uniform distribution.*
|
| 11. Add **470 µL of the MagAttract Suspension G beads/Buffer QSB1 mix** to each well-containing lysate in a KingFisher 96 deep-well plate and mix by pipetting (KF Plate 1).
|
| 12. Transfer up to **650 µL of the MagAttract Suspension G beads/Buffer QSB1/lysate** mix from each sample to another KingFisher 96 deep-well plate (*KF Plate 2*), to be used in the first binding step. Both KF Plates 1&2 will be placed in the machine to improve yield.
___________________________________________________
KingFisher Apex Purification System
-----------------------------------
1. Add **500 µL Buffer MW1** (*MW1 Plate*) to each well of one clean KingFisher 96 deep-well plate.
2. Add **500 µL fresh 80% ethanol** to each well of three clean KingFisher 96 deep-well plates (*EtOH Plates 1-2*).
3. Add **100 µL** **Solution C6** (*C6 Plate*) to each well of a clean KingFisher 96 microplate.
4. Turn on the KingFisher Apex Purification System and load the robotic decks in the following order: Tip Comb, *C6 Plate*, *EtOH Plates 1-3*, *MW1 Plate*, *KF Plate 2*, and *KF Plate* 1 as indicated in the program.
5. Initiate the robotic program.
6. Upon completion of the robotic program, **transfer the eluted DNA** from the KingFisher 96 microplate to a low-bind microplate.
7. Assess the quantity and quality of DNA using fluorometry (Qubit) and spectrophotometry (Epoch) methods. **Dilute all samples to 10 ng/µL**.
____________________________________________________
**References**
Chaves, C., Najera Cortazar, L. A., Martins, F., Anslan, S., Beja-Pereira, A., Magalhães, M., & Price, B. (2025a). Characterization of Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic Biodiversity from Soil Samples. WorkflowHub. https://doi.org/10.48546/workflowhub.sop.12.2
____________________________________________________
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