Lab 5 - DNA Extraction

From Cells Lab

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After completing this activity,
students will be able to:
Observe the physical properties of DNA
Prepare a filtered extract of strawberry and
chicken liver DNA.
Demonstrate that DNA is a three dimensional
structure, and that it can be extracted from
nearly any cell.
Recognize DNA as the source of variation and
the common link between all living things

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DNA stands for
deoxyribonucleic
acid
The shape of a DNA
molecule is a double
helix.
The scientists James
Watson and Francis
Crick are credited
with determining the
structure in 1953.

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Parts of a DNA molecule
Sugar and phosphate
these make up the backbone of the moleculethe
sides of the ladder
Nitrogenous bases (A, C, G, or T)
these are the steps of the ladder
The order (aka sequence) of nitrogenous bases
determines each of your genes
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The Shape of DNA: double
helix
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Deoxyribose
Sides of ladder
Nitrogenous bases
- Rungs of ladder
DNA Double Helix
Adenine (A)
Thymine (T)
Cytosine (C)
Guanine (G)
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A always goes with T
C always goes with G
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CHROMOSOME
Human Karyotype - Diploid
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One set of
chromosomes
from your
mothers egg,
one set from
your fathers
sperm
Each organism has a different assemblage of DNA
sequences this variation is responsible for the
differences between all organisms
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DNA is in the nucleus of (almost) all
the cells in your body
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Red blood cells lack a
nucleus, thus lack DNA
Based on this figure, is there more
DNA in strawberries or liver?
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Why should I care about DNA?
Every living thing has DNA
The same four bases (in different
combinations) make up all living things
DNA can help us investigate our ancestors,
and understand how we may be genetically
predisposed in the future
Our unique DNA makes us who we are, like a
recipe for making an organism what it is.
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Lab Today
DNA molecules are long, slender molecules that carry the
heritable information of organisms on to future generations.
Because of its microscopic size, it is impossible to see a DNA
molecule with the naked eye. It would take about 300,000
DNA molecules side by side to make a bundle as thick as a
human hair.
When subjected to certain conditions, it is possible to collect
large amounts of DNA to make it visible.
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Why do we purify DNA?
The purification of chromosomal
DNA is frequently the first step in
molecular-cloning experiments.
DNA is insoluble in alcohol and so
it precipitates out of solution. This
helps remove small molecules,
such as salts, sugars, and amino
acids, from nucleic acid
precipitations because they remain
in the solution.
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Most animals are diploid (two copies of the
genome), but some plants can have more than
two copies
Strawberry plants are octoploid, that is, each
cell contains 8 sets of chromosomes.
The liver of animals may become polyploid
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