Gel Electrophoresis

Scenario: Mr. I.M. Megabucks, the wealthiest man in the world, recently died. Since his death, three women have come forward. Each woman claims to have a child by Megabucks and demands a substantial share of his estate for her child. How can we find out who is telling the truth??

The birth of gel electrophoresis Gel Electrophoresis: A laboratory method used to separate mixtures of DNA according to molecular size.  What is it? The birth of gel electrophoresis

A.k.a. DNA Fingerprinting DNA is extracted from a cell (Blood, saliva, etc) Restriction enzymes are used to recognize & cut at specific sequences in the DNA Cut up DNA fragments are loaded into wells on an agarose gel square

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4. Electrodes are attached and an electric current moves negatively charged DNA fragments toward the + pole 5. Large fragments move slower than small fragments, creating a distinct banding pattern 6. Bands are dyed &compared for similarities/ Differences under UV light

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Practical Applications Taxonomists use it help distinguish species Evolutionary Biologists can compare similarities and create family trees Crime Scene Analysis Paternity testing