The traditional phenol extraction procedure, based on early work by Kirby (1957) and elaborated in most modern protocol compendia, yields very clean nucleic acids suitable for a variety of downstream applications. This extraction method is coupled with a routine alcohol precipitation step to allow buffer exchange, removal of trace amounts of chloroform, and concentration of nucleic acids (Sambrook and Russell 2001). This is a protocol from: Steward, G. F. and A. I. Culley. 2010. Chapter 16: Extraction and purification of nucleic acids from viruses.Manual of Aquatic Viral Ecology. Waco, TX:American Society of Limnology and Oceanography. doi:10.4319/mave.2010.978-0-9845591-0-7 Please see the published manuscript for additional information.