Enzymatic detection of formalin-fixed museum specimens for DNA analysis and enzymatic maceration of formalin-fixed specimens

Plastination of Old Formalin-fixed Specimens

This paper presents an alternative approach to the study of gross anatomy which may be pursued in Medical Schools using plastination techniques. Specimens fixed with formalin and alcohol-based techniques were utilized as the source of specimens to be plastinated; the reason for this choice was a result of the decreased organ availability in Italy due to religion and restrictive laws. The proced...

Enhanced DNA extraction and PCR amplification of mitochondrial genes from formalin-fixed museum specimens.

Fixing Formalin: A Method to Recover Genomic-Scale DNA Sequence Data from Formalin-Fixed Museum Specimens Using High-Throughput Sequencing

For 150 years or more, specimens were routinely collected and deposited in natural history collections without preserving fresh tissue samples for genetic analysis. In the case of most herpetological specimens (i.e. amphibians and reptiles), attempts to extract and sequence DNA from formalin-fixed, ethanol-preserved specimens-particularly for use in phylogenetic analyses-has been laborious and ...

DNA Extraction Method Affects the Detection of a Fungal Pathogen in Formalin-Fixed Specimens Using qPCR

Museum collections provide indispensable repositories for obtaining information about the historical presence of disease in wildlife populations. The pathogenic amphibian chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) has played a significant role in global amphibian declines, and examining preserved specimens for Bd can improve our understanding of its emergence and spread. Quantitative PC...

Enhanced fungal DNA-extraction from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue specimens by application of thermal energy.

Determining the etiology of invasive fungal infections (IFI) is critical for patient management as fungi vary in their susceptibility to antifungals. However, the etiology remains obscure in many cases due to negative culture results. The identification of fungal DNA by PCR in pathology blocks and sequencing it is an alternative approach to determine the cause of IFI. Previous studies identifie...