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Biology 12 Unit 2 Name _____________________________

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Extracting DNA from Strawberries

Purpose
To gain experience with simple lab procedures.
To understand the structure of DNA.
To extract DNA from strawberries in a sufficient quantity to be seen
and spooled.

Background
DNA is present in the cells of all living organisms. Ripe strawberries are an excellent source for
extracting DNA because they are easy to pulverize and contain enzymes called pectinases and
cellulases that help to break down cell walls. In addition, strawberries have eight copies of each
chromosome (they are octoploid), so there is a lot of DNA to isolate.
The process of extracting DNA from a cell is the first step for many laboratory procedures in
biotechnology. The scientist must be able to separate DNA from the unwanted substances of the
cell gently enough so that the DNA does not denature (break up.)
The procedure used in this activity has the same essential elements as more advanced laboratory
DNA extraction procedures: mechanical and thermal disruption of cells, liberation of the DNA, and
precipitation of the DNA.
Although we dont have expensive lab equipment we can still successfully extract DNA from cells by
simplifying the procedure used in a lab. Mashing strawberries breaks down tough cell walls and
mixing the mash with a gentle detergent dissolves lipids in the cell membranes and nuclear
envelope (just like the detergent dissolves grease on your dishes). As a result, the DNA which is
normally coiled inside the nucleus of the cells will be released into solution. DNA molecules have a
small negative electrical charge, and in order for us to be able to collect a viable DNA sample, we
must neutralize this charge so we can get the DNA molecules to aggregate with one another (recall
that like charges repel each other). To accomplish this we will add positively charged sodium ions
(salt) to our DNA solution. The final step is to add cold ethanol alcohol. DNA is not soluble in
alcohol and so the DNA molecules that are clumped together will precipitate at the water/ethanol
interface of the solution. Each glob of material in the precipitate will contain millions of DNA
strands clumped together, along with some of the protein that is normally associated with DNA.
(Since the DNA was not highly purified, some protein precipitates out with the DNA.)
Materials
2-3 medium size strawberries
Knife
Ziploc bag
250 mL (8 oz) glass beakers
Ice water bath in a 500 mL beaker
Coffee filter
30 ml of distilled water
Sodium chloride (table salt)
1- plastic transfer pipette or medicine dropper
1 test tube containing isopropyl alcohol
1 empty test tube
Glass rod or wooden stick
Electronic scale
5 mL clear-colored mild detergent or shampoo
Biology 12 Unit 2 Name _____________________________


2
Procedure
1. Make an ice water bath in a 500 mL beaker. Carefully add 10 mL of alcohol to a test tube and
place it in the ice water bath.
2. Preparation of DNA extraction buffer: In a 250 mL beaker, make a solution consisting of 5 mL
detergent and 1.5 g of sodium chloride. Add distilled water to make a final volume of 100 ml.
Stir SLOWLY to dissolve the salt (avoids foaming).
3. Remove the sepals from a strawberry and cut it into small pieces. Place the pieces in a Ziploc
and remove as much air as possible as you seal the bag.
4. Thoroughly pulverize the strawberry into a fine pulp inside the bag (5 mins). Add approximately
25 mL DNA extraction buffer prepared in step 2 to the bag and continue to pulverize the
strawberry. ** Be careful not to create soapy bubbles.
5. Wash out the 250 mL beaker with the DNA extraction buffer and place a coffee filter inside it.
Fold the coffee filter's edge around the cup so that the filter does not touch the bottom of the
cup.
6. Filter the mixture by pouring it into the filter and letting the solution drain for several minutes
until there is approximately 5-10 ml (covers the bottom of the cup) of filtrate to test.
7. Fill an empty test tube approximately 1/3 full of filtrate.
8. Obtain a test tube of cold alcohol from the ice water bath. Use a plastic pipette to gently pour
10 mL of alcohol down the side of the test tube containing the strawberry filtrate so that it
forms a separate layer on top.
9. Let the solution sit for 2 to 3 minutes without disturbing it. It is important not to shake the test
tube. You can watch the white DNA precipitate out into the alcohol layer. When good results
are obtained, there will be enough DNA to spool on to a glass rod or wooden stick. Record your
observations.









Biology 12 Unit 2 Name _____________________________


3
Extracting DNA from Strawberries Lab /14
Comment on the following:
o Did the extraction work for your lab group? If so, describe strawberry DNA that you
isolated? If not, where do you think your went wrong during the lab procedure
(2 marks)




Answer the following questions (full sentences):

1. Describe the structure of DNA. (1 mark)





2. List the three parts of each nucleotide found in nucleic acids. (3 marks)






3. Determine the DNA sequence that is complementary to the following DNA strand.
(1 marks)
CGGCCTTCAATAGGTCCCAAA


4. A DNA segment contains 22% guanine bases. What are the percentages of the remaining bases in
this DNA segment? (2 marks)



5. What is recombinant DNA? (1 mark)



6. In your educated opinion, are GMOs good or bad, explain. Be sure to support your response with
facts from Dr. Ishiguros presentation. (4 marks)




Biology 12 Unit 2 Name _____________________________


4
What is going on?
All living things are made up of cells, and each cell contains a complete copy of the
organism's DNA. So you could extract DNA from any kind of living material.

The DNA you have extracted has come from billions of strawberry cells, which is
why you can see it so easily. If you were able to unravel the DNA in just one
human cell and stretch it out, it would be two metres long. However as DNA is so
thin, you would not be able to see it without an incredibly powerful microscope.

Here are some cells from an onion (they are a lot
easier to photograph than Strawberry cells)

The cells are made up of strong cell walls
(yellow), fatty cell membranes (blue) and contain
a nucleus with DNA inside (black) and lots of
proteins (green)

The enzymes in the strawberry can break down
the cell walls.

The detergent dissolves the fatty cell
membranes.

The salt makes the DNA stick together. The DNA
doesn't dissolve in alcohol so it coagulates to
form a jelly like substance which you can pick up.

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