Abstract
This paper reports a rapid and facile procedure for obtaining of DNA from small, whole aquatic organisms (fathead minnow, Pimephales promelas) as well as from the liver of another species (bluegill sunfish, Lepomis macrochirus) and the subsequent estimation of its double strandedness. DNA was isolated from various tissues by homogenization in a basic pH solution containing detergent followed by differential extraction using organic solvents. Additional purification was accomplished by molecular sieve chromatography. Under defined alkaline unwinding conditions, the amount of double-stranded and single-stranded DNA was determined using the bisbenzimidazole dye Hoechst 33258. The technique was used to detect the occurrence of strand breaks in DNA of fathead minnows chemically exposed to benzo[ a]pyrene.
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