Identification with DNA
The process is extracting and analyzing DNA from mushrooms is a lot easier than you might think.
Here is a very basic overview of the process
- Extract DNA from your tissue
- Select a very specific region to copy
- Make millions of copies
- Send those copies to a lab for sequencing
- Search for that DNA sequence to find close matches
This still sounds complicated, right? Let’s treat this like sourdough
- Make a DNA starter by crushing a piece of mushroom and adding a couple ingredients
- Mix a tiny amount of starter with a few more ingredients that ‘recognize’ the target area
- ‘Bake’ the mixture by telling a simple machine what temp and for how long
- Send the sample to a lab
- Copy+Paste your results into a DNA search engine
I have started to outline this process with more detail and I will continue to update this further over the coming weeks.
