Abstract
Wood constitutes the unique source of DNA in dead trees, but extraction of adequate quality DNA from dry wood is usually challenging. However, many different molecular studies require the use of such DNA. We have standardized and validated a modified CTAB protocol to isolate DNA from dry wood from Abies pinsapo and Cedrus atlantica species. Due to the degradation and very little DNA that is normally present in the wood from dead trees we have developed a PCR based test to certify the quality of the extracted samples. In the present study, we have proved too the effectiveness of this methodology to isolate DNA from conifer dry wood samples of sufficient quality to perform further molecular genetic experiments.