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Seven commercially available DNA extraction kits were compared with a cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) method to determine the suitability of the extracted DNA for RainDrop digital PCR (dPCR) and real-time PCR (RT-PCR) quantification of OXY235 canola, FP967 flax, and DP305423 soybean (spiked at the 0.1% level). For the kits, the highest amount of DNA extracted from a 0.2 g sample was obtained using OmniPrep for Plant for flax and DNeasy mericon Food for canola and soybean. For canola, DNA extracted with the Fast ID Genomic DNA Extraction Kit, FastDNA Spin Kit, GM Quicker 2, NucleoSpin Food, and DNeasy mericon Food was suitable for dPCR and RT-PCR. For flax, DNA extracted with Fast ID, FastDNA Spin Kit, OmniPrep for Plant, and NucleoSpin Food was suitable for RT-PCR. However, only Fast ID yielded DNA suitable for dPCR. For soybean, DNA extracted with five and six of the seven DNA extraction kits was suitable for dPCR and RT-PCR, respectively. Overall, Fast ID provided reliable results regardless of species or analysis method used. Canola, flax, and soybean DNA extracted with the CTAB method and then purified were suitable for both dPCR and RT-PCR. This is the first report showing the effect of different DNA extraction methods on the absolute quantification of genetically engineered traits using dPCR.

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Low-level detection and quantification of genetically engineered (GE) traits with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is challenging. For unapproved GE events, any level of detection is not acceptable in some countries because of zero tolerance. Droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) has been successfully used for absolute quantification of GE events. In this study, reliability of low level quantification of GE events with ddPCR was assessed using a total of 50, 100, 200, 400, and 600 ng DNA spiked at 0.01% and 0.1% concentration levels. Genetically engineered canola (GT73 and MON88302 events) and soybean (A2704-12 and DP305423 events) events were used for the study. For samples spiked at 0.1% level, reliable quantification was achieved for the four GE events using 50 or 100 ng DNA. Few target droplets were generated for 0.01% spiked GE samples using 50 and 100 ng DNA. Increasing the amount of DNA for ddPCR generated more number of target droplets. For GE canola events, the use of 400 and 600 ng DNA for ddPCR resulted in saturation. The use of multiple wells of 200 ng DNA (instead of 400 and 600 ng per well) helped to overcome the saturation problem. Overall, the use of high amount of DNA for ddPCR was helpful for the detection and quantification of 0.01% GE samples.