Field preservation of marine invertebrate tissue for DNA analyses

Successful preservation of tissue samples is a prerequisite for long field studies in remote areas. However, there is little published information concerning field preservation of marine invertebrate tissues for DNA analyses. This omission is significant because marine biodiversity is centered in the Indo-Pacific, where immediate DNA analysis is often impossible. Consequently, we used an assay based on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to examine the effect of five storage solutions and three temperature regimens on the degradation of DNA from four common classes of marine invertebrates (Anthozoa, Gastropoda, Polychaeta, and Scyphozoa). Control samples were cryopreserved. Storage solution and the type of tissue preserved were the best predictors of preservation success. The length of time in storage and the storage temperature also affected the preservation of DNA. A field test demonstrates that a solution of dimethylsulfoxide and sodium chloride (DMSO-NaCl) preserves a wide range of tissues for DNA analyses and is very simple to use in remote field locations.