Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Bacterial endospore disruption and nucleic acid extraction resulting in DNA of PCR-amplifiable quality and quantity are not trivial. Responding to the needs of the Hazardous Materials Response Unit (HMRU), Laboratory Division, Federal Bureau of Investigation, protocols were developed to close these gaps. Effectiveness and reproducibility of the techniques were validated with laboratory grown pure spores of Bacillus anthracis and its close phylogenetic neighbors, and with spiked soils and damaged samples.