Combined DNA and protein extraction

Project brief:

A combined DNA and protein extraction protocol would greatly reduce sampling and streamline a combined ‘omics’ approach of investigating historical and ancient samples e.g. detection of both pathogen protein and DNA.

Typical DNA extractions are incompatible with many downstream analysis aimed at protein fingerprinting and sequencing. For example, the use of proteinase K yields peptide fragments that are too small to be confidently assigned to a protein.

Preliminary investigation by our group has resulted in a potentially suitable combined DNA and protein extraction solution. However, this has not been systematically compared to traditional DNA and protein single extractions.