Clemente Gallegos-Vázquez

Mucilage from cladodes of Opuntia spinulifera Salm-Dyck: chemical, morphological, structural and thermal characterization

ABSTRACT The mucilage obtained from cladodes of Opuntia spinulifera has been used in industries and traditional applications. In the present work, the chemical, morphological, thermal and structural features of cladode mucilage from Opuntia spinulifera Salm-Dyck were studied. The 2D 1H-1H COSY NMR confirmed ten different residues within the repeating saccharide unit, six with α and four with β configurations. The FTIR showed the presence of galactose and pectins. The XRD detected minerals as calcium salts. The SEM exhibited aggregations and irregular morphology of the particles. The TGA registered the highest mass loss between 246–378°C and the DSC showed the transition state at 55.7°C and at 113.2°C was observed the typical endothermic peak, where it corresponds to the organic compound materials.

Improved method for genomic DNA extraction for Opuntia Mill. (Cactaceae)

BackgroundGenomic DNA extracted from species of Cactaceae is often contaminated with significant amounts of mucilage and pectin. Pectin is one of the main components of cellular walls, whereas mucilage is a complex polysaccharide with a ramified structure. Thus, pectin- and mucilage-free extraction of DNA is a key step for further downstream PCR-based analyses.ResultsWe tested our DNA extraction method on cladode tissue (juvenile, adult, and herbaria exemplars) of 17 species of Opuntia Mill., which are characterized by a large quantity of pectin and mucilage.ConclusionWe developed a method for the extraction of gDNA free of inhibitory compounds common in species of Opuntia Mill., such as pectin and mucilage. Compared to previously extraction protocols, our method produced higher yields of high-quality genomic DNA.