Long term stability of mRNA

[danudwary]

Hi there. I have acquired several very old cell samples (protists, primarily), stored at -20C for 5 to 10 years or more. I was wondering whether it would be viable to try an mRNA extraction, or that's just too long in storage. They were collected for the purpose of small molecule extraction, so there's a pretty significant mass, and as far as I can tell they were simply centrifuged down and stored wet without any treatment. Thanks for any help!

[relaxin]

-20 C is just not cold enough to keep RNA intact.

You can use it for protein and DNA extraction.