Storage of DNA - -80 deg or -4 deg (May/15/2005 )

G'day,
I store my viral stock DNA at -80 deg C and the working stock at -4 deg C. Sometime i have to store my stock DNA at -4 deg C, is that ok? How long can we store our DNA (dissolved in water or TE) and at what temp. ?

Thanks for ure response

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hai dear
DNA is the most stable biomolecule. it is even stable at 100C. So u can strore at any temperature even at 0C. It does't matter either it dissolved in water or TE. u can strore for many years. avoid only nuclease contamination. goodluck

chandra

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Hi,
Yes, DNA is a very stable molecule, but it is more stable in buffered solution than in water. The reason may be that the pH of water can be easily affected by the environment. I have lost my oligo DNA kept in water several times, so I prefer to keep DNA in TE at -20C for long storage.

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The limiting factor for DNA storage is the number of freeze/thaw cycles that you can put it through. If you are using the DNA a lot it is best stored at 4 degrees in the fridge and in TE. If you want to archive a sample, then in the -80 or -20 in either TE or water is fine. I personally have stored DNA samples both in crude prep form (basically digested tissue), and in purified form, at 4 degrees in TE for well over a year with little or no sign of degradation in the DNA and successfully PCR'd from these stocks.

bob

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