The research group of Professor Naoyuki Nakahama of the Institute of Natural and Environmental Sciences, University of Hyogo, Professor Yuji Isagi of the Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, and Professor Motomi Ito of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences of the University of Tokyo is responsible for maintaining genetic information. We have developed a new preparation method to prevent deterioration of genetic information for dried specimens of insects, which was difficult.

 Insect specimens stored in natural history museums are, so to speak, "time capsules" that convey information on the shape and genes of the time when the insect was alive.By analyzing not only insect morphology and collection information, but also past genetic diversity and changes in functional genes, it is expected to be applied to various fields of natural science.However, due to the remarkable deterioration of the DNA contained in the specimen, research using genetic information has not been carried out so far.

 There was also a cost issue.Samples for genetic analysis of insects have been stored mainly in frozen or ethanol, but they are more expensive to store than dried specimens.Therefore, many natural history museums have a small collection of samples for genetic analysis, and most of them are stored as dry specimens.In order to effectively use the genetic information of insect specimens, it was necessary to develop a method for maintaining the genetic information for a long period of time in the state of dry specimens with low storage cost.

 Therefore, the method developed this time is a method of retaining genetic information for a long period of time using propylene glycol.Propylene glycol is an organic compound used in foods and pharmaceuticals.Simultaneously with the dried specimen of the insect, prepare a sample for genetic analysis in which the muscle tissue containing the genetic information and propylene glycol are placed in a 0.2 ml tube.Comparing this sample with the dried specimen and ethanol storage, the degree of DNA residual after 1 year was equivalent to that of ethanol.In addition, propylene glycol has a much slower evaporation rate than ethanol, and was found to be suitable as a storage solution for insect specimens premised on long-term storage, demonstrating its effectiveness in long-term storage of genetic information.

 Furthermore, both 0.2 ml tubes and propylene glycol, which are the main materials of this method, can be easily obtained by mail order, and can be produced at a cost of about 1 yen per specimen.It can be said that it is an easy method to introduce not only to research institutes but also to amateur insect lovers.In the future, it is strongly expected that enthusiasts and museums will use this method to produce a large number of insect specimens in which genetic information is stored, thereby adding new value as a genetic resource to insect specimens in the future. Will be done.

Paper information:[European Journal of Entomology] Methods for retaining well-preserved DNA with dried specimens of insects

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