A New Method Based on the Use of Diethyl Pyrocarbonate as a Nuclease Inhibitor for the Extraction of Undegraded Nucleic Acid from Plant Tissues

A new method, based on the use of the diethyl pyrocarbonate as a nuclease inhibitor, has been worked out for the extraction of undegraded nucleic acids from etiolated and green plant tissues. Experimental evidence is given to show that the nucleic acids isolated by this method exhibit a high degree of purity as evidence by their spectra and that they are essentially undergraded as indicated by sedimentation patterns in sucrose density gradients.