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This procedure is sometimes used with recalcitrant species or older plant tissues. Because the procedure employs a phenol:chloroform extraction it is slightly more time-consuming than the method described in the previous chapter and generates organic wastes. However, the recovered DNA usually digests well with restriction enzymes and stores for long periods without signs of degradation.

The original maize DNA miniprep protocol (version 1) and its successor, version 2, are used extensively for many plant species and different tissues. We (S.L. Dellaporta, J. Wood, J.B. Hicks) prefer this slightly modified version (2.1) for most large (ca. 50–100 µg) DNA extractions. This procedure has the advantage of speed, use of inexpensive reagents, and environmental soundness because neither phenol nor chloroform waste is generated.