single 18S pick

[rteixeira]

Good day.

I am analyzing plant small stem cross section for further Laser microdissection studies. Till now, all the samples shows a complete degradation of the RNA but i got a sample where i get a big 18Spick but no 28S. Does any one have encounter this kind of result?
Thank you so much

[pbluescript]

Are you sure it is degradation? High salt buffer or sometimes organic contamination can make larger RNA bands insoluble so that they don't appear on a gel or bioanalyzer.

[rteixeira]

Thank you so much for your reply. I am thinking in degradation because all my other samples came out as completely degraded using the same protocol. My hope is that is not degraded and something else occurred. i have added the graph.
Again, thank you so much for your help.

[pbluescript]

Hmm... that 18S peak looks a bit suspicious. Usually, such a sharp drop off on one side occurs when something went wrong with the run. How does the peak size compare to other samples?

[rteixeira]

on other samples, the picks are very low. there is no comparison but i can send a graph or two. I will repeat the sample and see if that strange pick happens again.
this conversation has been a really helpful.