A flexible, cost- and time-saving method for in-house laboratory production of DNA markers

Abstract Purpose A DNA marker is routinely used to determine the size of DNA fragments by electrophoresis in molecular biology laboratories. Thus, in-house produced DNA markers could be appropriate for moderately equipped laboratories. Methods We report here a new procedure for generating 9 fragments of DNA markers, ranging from 500 to 4600 bp, by partial digestion of the recombinant pSY4.6-1 and pSY4.6-2 plasmids using only one restriction enzyme. Results DNA markers, containing 9 fragments, were obtained by digesting the recombinant plasmid, which resulted from the commercial cloning pJET1.1 and pJET1.2 plasmids and inserts of 1506 bp or 1628 bp, and 1 suitable restriction enzyme. Conclusion Our in-house produced DNA markers could be suitable for moderately equipped laboratories due to their simplicity, time-saving, and cost-saving procedure (approximately US$5 for materials to produce a DNA marker used for 100 agarose gel lanes) compared to the current ones widely used in most laboratories.