Abstract: A new simple，rapid and effective LSS（N-lauroyl-sarcosine sodium）-based protocol for RNA isolation from litchi tissues of fruitlet and abscission zone was developed. This LSS method gave high-quality RNA in about 2 h. The ratios of 28S/18S，A260/A280，RNA integrity（RIN）and yield of the total RNA from tissues of fruitlet and abscission zone were 1.7 and 1.9，1.80 and 1.89，9.7 and 10.0，380 and 450 μg · g-1，respectivetly. In addition，reverse transcription-PCR confirmed that the isolated RNA was of appropriate quality and integrity for gene expression studies. Therefore，LSS method is particularly useful for processing large numbers of samples and for isolation of RNA from minute quantities of tissue samples.

Key words: litchi, fruitlet, abscission zone, RNA isolation, LSS（N-lauroyl-sarcosine sodium）