In recent years, molecular biological analyses have been used in diverse areas of biology study. This wider use has increased demand for more convenient and safe methods of DNA extraction and purification. The author proposes an improved DNA extraction method using a glass-fiber filter. The improvements were mainly three. The first was centrifugation of homogenized plant tissue. The second was the addition of polyvinylpolypyrrolidone (PVPP) to the extraction reagent as a polyphenol absorbent. The final was the removal and collection of solvent from the glass fiber filter pieces using a desktop centrifuge. This improved method, which can extract sufficiently pure DNA solution for PCR amplification in diverse plant species, presents advantages over many conventional methods such as lower cost and higher safety, while accommodating a wider range of applications than the conventional glass fiber filter method can.

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Carex vesicaria was newly found from Mie Prefecture. The new locality is in a great distance from Lake Biwa and its adjacent regions, where the species had been known to grow in Kinki District, and this discovery of psychrophyte may provide information for reconstructing the flora and vegetation history in inland area of Kinki District.

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