Extraction Of DNA


Aim:
To understand what DNA is and how it works in all living organisms.

Equipment:
3 Strawberries, 2 glass beakers, stirring rod, 10ml washing up liquid, ¼ tsp salt, plastics bag, strainer, tweezers, 5ml isopropyl alcohol, 90ml water

Method:
1 Pour 90ml of water into a beaker and add 10ml of washing up liquid. Mix the solution well.
2 Add ¼ tsp of salt to the solution and mix well again
3 Place the strawberries into a zipped bag and add the water solution into the bag. Make sure the bag is airtight when you close the bag. Make sure the bag is sealed well. No solution should be able to escape.
4. Squeeze the strawberries, and get rid of the lumps.
5. Pour this solution into another glass beaker through the strainer. Separating the liquid from the solids. Using the measuring spoon gently press the contents in the strainer to extract any liquids.
6. Gently add 5ml of isopropyl alcohol into the beaker with the strawberry solution. Notice the top



layer changing colourdna.png

Results:
A white substance is formed- This is the DNA of the strawberries.

Conclusion:
DNA is the building block of all living creatures, plants and animals. It is found in the cells of animals and determines the genetics or make up of every individual organism. DNA is also present in the whole foods we eat. The long thick fibers pulled out of the extraction solution are strands of strawberry DNA. DNA is present in every cell of all plants and animals and determines the genetics of the individual organisms.

While other fruits are soft and just as easy to pulverize, strawberries are the perfect choice for a DNA extraction lab for two reasons: they yield more DNA than any other fruits, and they are octoploid, meaning that they have eight copies of each type of DNA chromosome. These special circumstances make strawberry DNA easy to extract and see. (Human cells are generally diploid, with only two sets of chromosomes.)

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