A Modified Protocol for Total Rna Isolation from Different Oil Palm ( Elaeis guineensis ) Tissues using Cetyltrimethylammonium Bromide

Extraction of high-quality RNA from oil palm tissues is challenging due to the presence of polysaccharides, polyphenols and other complexes that co-precipitate with RNA. Therefore, isolation of high-quality RNA from oil palm is challenging due to the presence of varying amounts of these constituents in diverse tissues. This communication describes a modified RNA extraction protocol based on the cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) method which is useful for extracting high-quality RNA from different oil palm tissues. Total RNA isolation using a modified CTAB protocol was compared with two different methods, a conventional TRIzol method and the method for RNA isolation from palms (MRIP). Both methods were useful for isolating RNA from leaf tissues; however, they were not effective in isolating RNA from other tissues. The current protocol based on a modified CTAB method was efficient in isolating high-quality total RNA from oil palm fruit tissues, including mesocarp and endosperm, stem, ischolar_main and flower tissues. This modified CTAB-based protocol gave approximately 20-30 μg of total RNA from 150 mg of tissue within 5-6 h.