Protocol

Isolating Total RNA from Mouse Embryos or Fetal Tissues

This protocol was adapted from "Techniques for Visualizing Gene Products, Cells, Tissues, and Organ Systems," Chapter 16, in Manipulating the Mouse Embryo, 3rd edition, by Andras Nagy, Marina Gertsenstein, Kristina Vintersten, and Richard Behringer. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA, 2003.

INTRODUCTION

This RNA isolation procedure is suitable for tissue of almost any size, and is particularly useful for fetal organs or whole embryos from mice, as it can be performed in volumes as small as 0.5 mL. The minimum amount of tissue used should be ten 7.5-dpc (days post-coitum) embryos, one or two 8.5-dpc embryos, or approximately one-tenth of a 12.5-dpc embryo. If smaller amounts of tissue are homogenized in a 0.5-mL volume, the recovery of RNA may be less efficient.