Abstract
PREMISE: Seaweeds are gaining substantial research interest, particularly for genomic applications, where high-quality DNA is a prerequisite. Extracting DNA from these organisms presents challenges due to high levels of biomacromolecules resulting from their diverse cell structures. Existing protocols often lack versatility, leading to inconsistent outcomes across various materials and taxa, which highlights the need for a universal method for use with a variety of green seaweed samples. METHODS AND RESULTS: We optimized the conventional cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) protocol for green seaweed DNA extraction. Our method, involving an initial sample treatment, lysis buffer adjustment, and enzyme incubation alterations, outperformed the conventional CTAB and commercial kits in terms of DNA yield and purity. Notably, the protocol's effectiveness was demonstrated across various green algal materials and preservation methods, and was tested with downstream applications with satisfactory results. CONCLUSIONS: Our optimized CTAB protocol offers a reliable solution for high-quality genomic DNA extraction from a wide variety of green seaweed samples.