Keiry Hiraldo

Mrs. Haggerty
Biology 1A
May 31, 2017

DNA Extraction Lab

LT 2.2 - I can explain the central dogma of biology for the essential functions of the genetic
code.
Strawberry

Objective ​- To extract DNA from a strawberry to prove that they too have DNA.

Hypothesis ​- If a strawberry is smashed with buffer solution and mixed with ethanol, then we
will be able to extract its DNA, because the properties of these solutions allow the DNA to
become visible.

Pre-Lab Questions ​-
1. What do you think the DNA will look like?
Since I have done this experiment before, I know that the DNA will look slimy and thick.

2. Where is DNA found?

The DNA is found in the cell’s nucleus.

Independent Variable - ​The buffer solution

Dependent Variable - ​The strawberry DNA and being able to extract and see it.

Lab Materials ​-
- Heavy duty ziploc bag (freezer or storage)
- 1 strawberry
- DNA extraction buffer solution (900 ML water, 50 ML dishwashing detergent, 2
teaspoon salt)
- Beaker
- Cheesecloth to fit in small funnel (4” x 4”)
- 50ML vial / test tube
- Glass stirring rod
- Cold ethanol (isopropyl alcohol)
Procedure steps ​-
1. Place one strawberry in a ziploc bag.
2. Smash / grind up the strawberry using your fingers and fist for two minutes. Be careful
not to break the bag.
3. Add the provided 10 ML of extraction buffer (salt and soap solution).
4. kneed / mush the strawberry in the bag again for one minute.
5. Assemble your filtration apparatus as shown to the right
6. Pour the strawberry slurry into the filtration apparatus and let it drip directly into your
test tube.
7. Slowly pour cold ethanol into the tube where the strawberry extract and ethanol layers
come into contact with each other. Observe.

Observations ​-
Lab Step Observations

1.Smashing the strawberries ● Red strawberry juice liquid

● Seeds and lumps are present

2.Smashed strawberries with buffer solution ● Soapy

● lumpy red strawberry juice
● Not as sheer colored anymore
● Bubbles present

3.Strained strawberry juice with ethanol ● It was hard to strain the strawberry
● Foamy
● Semi translucent strawberry juice
● Nicely strained

4.Strawberry juice mixed together ethanol
● Slimy DNA is formed and it's able to
be pulled out
● The strawberry juice and ethanol are
separated not not mixing
● The dna stuck to the stick
Analysis ​-

1. Explain the purpose of the following steps in the lab:

a. Filter strawberry slurry through cheesecloth
b. Mush strawberry with salty/ soapy solution
c. Initial smashing and grinding of strawberry
d. Addition of ethanol to filtered extraction

In the DNA extraction lab the first procedure necessary was to smash the strawberry up.
Once is was smashed up we then filtered it. It was necessary to smash and filter the strawberry
slurry to be able to get rid of the protective outer layer. When the other layer is removed and it is
filter into a liquid then it is possible to extract the DNA. We then proceeded to mix the
strawberry juice with a solution containing water, soap and salt. The soap in the solution has
properties that dissolve the cell membrane. Dissolving the cell membrane then allows for the salt
to gather the released DNA. The soap and salt releases the DNA by breaking up the protein
chain, this releases the nucleic acids. When the ethanol is added it separates the DNA from the
water allowing us to see it and remove it. DNA is soluble in water but not ethanol.

2. What did the DNA look like? Relate what you know about the chemical structure of
DNA to what you observed today.

The DNA looked like slimy long clumps. This was because strawberries have eight genomes so
they all stuck together. The chemical structure of DNA is a double helix. The dna clumped all
together so we could see them.

3. Explain what happened in the final step when you added ethanol to your strawberry
extract. (Hint: DNA is a soluble in water, but not in ethanol)

In the final step we added ethanol to the strawberry mixed with buffer solution. The DNA
separated from the strawberry juice because it soluble in water but not in ethanol. In the ethanol
the DNA does not dissolve and it becomes visible.

4. A person cannot see a single cotton thread 100 feet away, but if you wound thousands of
threads together into a rope, it would be visible much further away. Is this statement
analogous to our DNA extraction? Explain.

Yes it is. DNA is microscopic which we obviously can't see with our regular eyesight. In
this lab, the solutions used allow for DNA strands to clump together making it visible to our
eyes. Strawberries have eight genomes, which is why we are able to see so much DNA.
5. Why is it important for scientist to be able to remove DNA from an organism? List two
reasons.
It is important for scientist to be able to remove DNA from an organism because they are able
see what DNA looks like. They can also study the DNA, look at the structure and determine
things about the organism. They could possible place the extracted DNA in something else and
cross breed.

Conclusion: ​In this lab we tested if mixing strawberry juice, the extraction solution, and cold
ethanol could extract the DNA of a strawberry. The lab worked and we were able to see clumps
of DNA that were extracted from the strawberries nucleus. We were able to see the DNA
because it is soluble in water, but when the DNA is mixed with ethanol it is undissolvable. The
reason that we can see the DNA because it is many strands of tangled DNA. Strawberries have
eight genomes which is why we see so much DNA. The cell membrane splits and separated from
the nucleus releasing the DNA. The substances is result in the DNA rising and clumping
together.

Images:

Picture above: The non strained mashed strawberry with the buffer solution in a ziplock
bag.
Picture above: Straining the squashed strawberry mixed with buffer solution through a
cheesecloth into a vile

Picture above: Strained strawberry juice with buffer solution at the bottom layer, and cold
ethanol in the top section. DNA is starting to become visible.
Picture above: DNA being extracted from the vile, the DNA is clumped around the glass
rod.
 Blueberry

Objective ​- To extract DNA from a blueberry to prove that they too have DNA.

Hypothesis ​- If three blueberries are smashed with buffer solution and mixed with ethanol, then
we will be able to extract its DNA, because the properties of these solutions allow the DNA to
become visible.

Pre-Lab Questions ​-
3. What do you think the DNA will look like?
Since I have done this experiment before with a strawberry, I am assuming since they are similar
fruits that the DNA will look slimy and thick.

4. Where is DNA found?

The DNA is found in the cell’s nucleus.

Independent Variable - ​The buffer solution

Dependent Variable - ​The blueberry DNA and being able to extract and see it.

Lab Materials ​-
- Heavy duty ziploc bag (freezer or storage)
- 3 blueberries
- DNA extraction buffer solution (900 ML water, 50 ML dishwashing detergent, 2
teaspoon salt)
- Beaker
- Cheesecloth to fit in small funnel (4” x 4”)
- 50ML vial / test tube
- Glass stirring rod
- Cold ethanol (isopropyl alcohol)

Procedure steps ​-
8. Place one blueberry in a ziploc bag.
9. Smash / grind up the blueberry using your fingers and fist for two minutes. Be careful not
to break the bag.
10. Add the provided 10 ML of extraction buffer (salt and soap solution).
11. kneed / mush the blueberry in the bag again for one minute.
12. Assemble your filtration apparatus as shown to the right
 13. Pour the blueberry slurry into the filtration apparatus and let it drip directly into your test
tube.
14. Slowly pour cold ethanol into the tube where the blueberry extract and ethanol layers
come into contact with each other. Observe.

Observations ​-
Lab Step Observations

Smashing the blueberries Purple blueberry juice liquid with some

blueberry skin and white lumps

Smashed blueberries with buffer solution Soapy lumpy purple blueberry juice with
skin, not as sheer colored anymore

Strained blueberry juice with ethanol Translucent purple blueberry juice

Blueberry juice mixed together ethanol Slimy purple DNA is formed and it's able to
be pulled out

Analysis ​- The blueberry lab was successful as well as the strawberry one. Strawberries and
blueberries have similar properties since they are both berries. Blueberries do not have as many
genomes as the strawberry and therefore we were not able to see as much DNA as we could with
the strawberry. The blueberries are also much smaller and we didn't get as much juice from them.
Picture above: Smashed blueberry with buffer solution as the bottom layer, cold ethanol at
the top.

Picture above: Blueberry DNA being extracted from the vile, the blueberry DNA is
clumped on the glass vile.

Picture above: Blueberry DNA clumped on the glass rod.

Picture above: The layer of blueberry with buffer solution being mixed with the ethonol
layer.

Picture about: Blueberry vile and strawberry vile being compared next to each other.