A simple, rapid and low-cost method for the isolation of high molecular weight DNA from small amounts of cells or tissue is described. The method does not require liquid nitrogen, proteinase K or costly buffers. This method was successfully applied in the isolation and purification of DNA from eggs of Hyalomma excavatum, H. dromedarii, Argas persicus, A. hermanii and Boophilus annulatus, in addition to Escherichia coli, actinomycetes (Nocardia sp.) and leaves of soybean (Glycine max L.). The DNA concentration was calculated from the optical density (OD) value at wavelength 260 nm and the ratios OD260/OD280 and OD260/OD280 determined. The quality and amount of DNA obtained by this method were comparable to those of DNA isolated from equal amounts of material using a commercial genomie DNA purification kit.
