Extracting DNA from a strawberry Strawberry Smoothies Extracting DNA from a strawberry

Introduction DNA is found in the cells from Animals and Plants. DNA is a double stranded macromolecule composed of nucleotide bases pairing Adenine with Thymine and Guanine with Cytosine. DNA can be extracted from cells by a simple technique with household chemicals, enabling you to see strands of DNA with the naked eye.

Problem What household items can we use to extract DNA from a strawberry?

Hypothesis If strawberries contain DNA then………..

Safety Long pants Closed toe shoes Goggles Do not eat your strawberry smoothie- denatured alcohol is poisonous!

Materials Zip lock baggie with a strawberry Coffee filter Beaker Test tube Glass stirring rod

Procedure Using your strawberry in the zip lock bag- smash strawberry for 2 minutes Add 10 ml of extraction buffer Mush again for 1 minute Fold coffee filter- creating a funnel and place in beaker Pour strawberry mixture into coffee filter funnel and filter Dispose of filter and left over strawberry

continued SLOWLY pour ice cold ethanol into test tube- see Ms. Helgerson At the interface, you will see the DNA precipitate out of solution and float to the top Spool the DNA on to your glass rod Draw a picture of your final product. Describe what you see and feel

Questions/Conclusion Do you support or reject your hypothesis? Where is DNA found in the cell? What was the purpose of the soap in the buffer solution? Why was Sodium Chloride included in the buffer? Why was ice cold ethanol added to the mixture? Draw a diagram of DNA- labeling the nitrogenous bases, the sugar phosphate backbone and the hydrogen bonds