DNA measurement was conducted with a DNeasy quantification kit supplied by Qiagen and performed according to manufacturer conditions. A proteinase K–Buffer ATL working solution was prepared which contained 20 μl proteinase K stock solution and 180 μl Buffer ATL per sample. Mixing by vortex and centrifugation at 3000 rpm for 10 minutes was performed and the samples were then incubated overnight at 56 °C to ensure lysis of the tissue. Following this, 410 μl of premixed Buffer AL–ethanol was added to each sample. After vigorous vortex for 15 seconds, samples were then centrifuged again at 3000 rpm for 10 minutes to allow homogenous distribution of the lysate. The supernatant was then removed from each sample and centrifuged again at 6000 rpm for ten minutes. Then 500 μl of buffer AW1 was added to each sample and re-centrifuged for 5 minutes at 6000 rpm. Next, 500 μl of the Buffer AW2 was added to each one of the samples. These were centrifuged for 15 minutes at 6000 rpm. A nanodrop spectrophotometer (Thermo Scientific NanoDrop Lite Spectrophotometer) was used to measure the DNA concentration at a 260 nm wavelength (n = 3).