OPS Diagnostics' 1.7 mm Acid Washed Zirconium Beads are suitably versatile for homogenizing samples of all sizes from small tissue samples and organisms, such as flies to large tissue samples i.e., human prostate.
These beads have optimized bead-beating protocols to isolate DNA from duckweed. They were used in conjugation with 100 um beads to optimize the DNA extraction from both duckweed and associated bacteria. The 1.7 mm beads have also been used to disrupt numerous plant hosts within the rice paddy ecosystems. A crucial task for analyzing the bacterial colonization dynamics that can differ even among phylogenetically similar bacterial strains.
In addition to DNA extraction, these beads have been used to extract RNA from Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings for the expression of melanin biosynthesis in Streptomyces isolates. And extract quality RNA from Drosophila allowing researchers to perform quantitative PCR (qPCR) or other gene expression analysis techniques to determine how the loss of a gene involved in endocrine regulation of blood homeostasis affects metabolic and behavioral responses at the molecular level. Another unique application of the beads is to extract protein from human prostate tissues to identify protein biomarkers associated with prostate cancer racial disparity.
Zirconium Beads are denser than silica beads, less expensive than stainless steel grinding balls, and inert in most solutions. Our acid-washed zirconium beads are washed with acidified water to remove contaminants typically found in untreated beads (e.g., dust, microbes, hair), and further baked to remove any organic impurities.
Pre-filled tubes are a convenient solution for labs seeking time savings by no longer requiring researchers to weigh, fill, and QC individual tubes. They are available in 2 mL skirted (i.e., self-standing) or unskirted polypropylene tubes to ensure compatibility with most tube homogenizers. Tubes are capped with clear screw caps with O-rings.
Related Products
1.7 mm Zirconium Beads, Acid Washed, Pre-Filled Tubes (50 count)
Citations
Acosta, K., Sorrels, S., Chrisler, W., Huang, W., Gilbert, S., Brinkman, T., Michael, T.P., Lebeis, S.L. and Lam, E. 2023. Optimization of molecular methods for detecting duckweed-associated bacteria. Plants 12(4): 872. doi:10.3390/plants12040872 (Differences exist in colonization levels of duckweed between bacterial strains from the same genus)
Bellew-Dunn, E. 2020. Testing sulforaphane for chemoprevention against ageing and functional decline in male Drosophila models. Masters, Lancaster University. https://doi.org/10.17635/lancaster/thesis/930 (Sulforaphane is highly influenced by factors like diet, genetic background, and dosage timing)
Chewning, S. S.; Grant, D. L.; O’Banion, B. S.; Gates, A. D.; Kennedy, B. J.; Campagna, S. R.; Lebeis, S. L. 2019. Root-associated Streptomyces isolates harboring meLC genes demonstrate enhanced plant colonization. Phytobiomes Journal, 3 (3), 165–176. https://doi.org/10.1094/PBIOMES-01-19-0005-R (The synthesis of melanin and the activity of the enzyme tyrosinase in Streptomyces could provide a protective advantage to these bacteria as they adapt to living inside plant tissues)
Gioia, G., Freeman, J., Sipka, A., Santisteban Requena, C., Wieland, M., Gallardo, V. A., Monistero, V., Scott, J. G., & Moroni, P. 2022. Pathogens associated with houseflies from different areas within a New York State dairy. JDS Communications, 3(4 pp.285–290), 285–290. https://doi.org/10.3168/jdsc.2021-0200 (Twenty-six bacterial species are associated with mastitis in cows, five species considered foodborne pathogens posing risks to human health, and five species that cause milk spoilage)
Glover, Z.; Hodges, M. D.; Dravecz, N.; Cameron, J.; Askwith, H.; Shirras, A.; Broughton, S. J. 2019. Loss of Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme-Related (ACER) Peptidase disrupts behavioural and metabolic responses to diet in Drosophila melanogaster. Journal of Experimental Biology, 222 (8), jeb194332. https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.194332.(Insulin/IGF-like signaling pathway might be modulated by ACER by changes in the control of Drosophila insulin-like peptide 5 protein in the Acer mutant)
Grant, D. 2021.Investigating microbial genes involved in plant colonization and the effects on plant microbiome assembly. Master's Thesis, University of Tennessee. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/6201 (Soil-dwelling Streptomyces species with Arabidopsis hosts increases microbial colonization of plants)
Huang, W., Gilbert, S., Poulev, A., Acosta, K., Lebeis, S., Long, C., and Lam, E. 2020. Host-specific and tissue-dependent orchestration of microbiome community structure in traditional rice paddy ecosystems. Plant & Soil, 452(1/2), 379–395. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-020-04568-3 (A core of 254 bacterial taxa was identified as consistently present in all rice and duckweed tissue samples from the paddy fields)
Ye, F., Han, X., Shao, Y., Lo, J., Zhang, F., Wang, J., Melamed, J., Deng, F., Sfanos, K. S., De Marzo, A., Ren, G., Wang, D., Zhang, D., and Lee, P. 2022. Identification of novel biomarkers differentially expressed between African-American and Caucasian-American prostate cancer patients. PubMed, 12(4), 1660–1670. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35530298 (Variations present in the expression levels of the proteins Aurora, Cyclin D1, and HNF-3a with Aurora levels higher in tumors from African-American patients, whereas the levels of Cyclin D1 and HNF-3a were reduced)
