Evaluating yield of DNA extraction methods across different tissues of moon jellyfish Aurelia aurita (Linnaeus, 1758)

Purpose: This study aimed to optimize DNA extraction from the moon jellyfish Aurelia aurita, a gelatinous marine invertebrate, by comparing different methodologies and evaluating the influence of tissue type and Proteinase K treatment duration on DNA yield. Method: A total of 48 different combinations were tested using three extraction methods (salting-out, kit-based, and Trizol-based) across four tissue types (gonads, tentacles, epidermis, and gastrodermis). Each method was applied with varying Proteinase K incubation times (0, 1, 3, and 24 hours) to assess their impact on DNA yield and integrity. Findings: Gonadal tissues consistently provided the highest DNA concentrations, likely due to their relatively high cellular density and structural robustness. Among the methods, the salting-out protocol yielded superior results, particularly with 1–3 hours of Proteinase K incubation. In contrast, highly hydrated tissues such as epidermis and gastrodermis led to underestimated yields due to distorted wet weight measurements. Conclusion: Tissue selection, enzymatic treatment time, and extraction methodology critically affect DNA recovery from jellyfish. The salting-out method, when applied to gonadal tissue with moderate Proteinase K incubation, is recommended for efficient and reliable DNA isolation from Aurelia aurita.