RNA extraction from cereal vegetative tissue.

Ribonucleic acid (RNA) extraction is the necessary first step in many protocols, primarily to investigate genes and gene expression. RNA comes in a variety of forms: total RNA, ribosomal RNA, messenger RNA (mRNA), and small interfering RNA (siRNA) to name a few. In some instances, total RNA is all that is required; however most applications will require the enrichment for some particular form of RNA. In plants, including cereals, total RNA is a mixture of many types of RNA and enrichment is generally required. In this protocol, the TRIzol(®) method of RNA extraction from cereal leaf material is described, as it is a relatively simple technique.