In every cell, there are instructions that guides an organism needs to develop, live and

reproduce. These instructions are stored in DNA, and are passed down from parents to their
offspring. It is blueprint because it contains the instructions to construct other components of the
cell, such as proteins and RNA molecules. It functions as the cell’s long-term storage of
information. Essentially, the study of the DNA is very significant in understanding many cellular
concepts and cellular processes. To do this, DNA must be isolated from the target cell or tissue.
DNA extraction requires breaking the cell membrane to expose the DNA to remove unwanted
debris and to purify the DNA extract. The aim of this extraction processes is to use materials that
can be easily purchased from the store. Specifically, (1) to perform DNA extraction from plant
cell and human cheek cell using homemade materials, and (2) to explain the role of each
materials used in the procedures.
In the extraction processes, the researcher used mechanical and chemical means to extract
the DNA from the target cells. Mechanically, the grape fruit is smashed to provide initial
breakage to the cell thus we can say that we obtained DNA from several cells because strawberry
and human are multicellular organisms. Chemically, a lysis buffers is mixed with the mashed
grape fruits to help break the cells open, so their contents can be accessed or removed. The salts,
detergents, and distilled water solution breaks down the phospholipids found in cell membranes.
Buffer help to stabilize the pH while the cells are undergoing lysis, sodium chloride or salt raise
the ionic strength, thus total concentration of solutes outside the cells increases allowing water to
diffuse across cell membranes from regions of low solute concentration to regions of high solute
concentration [ CITATION Joh18 \l 13321 ]. Detergent break open the cell and nuclear membranes,
allowing the cellular proteins, DNA and other debris to be released into the solution. Though, the
DNA is not visible to the eye yet. Moreover, Gatorate contain salts and the Na+ ions of NaCl
bind to the phosphate groups of DNA molecules, neutralizing the electric charge of the DNA
molecules. The addition of NaCI allows the DNA molecules to come together instead of
repelling each other. The salt in the sports drink allows the strands to come together while
solidifying[ CITATION Linnd \l 13321 ]. The positively charged sodium ions help protect the
negatively charged phosphate groups that run along the backbone of the DNA. On one hand, the
addition of cold ethanol makes the DNA clump together and precipitate out of the solution.
Since, DNA is soluble in water but insoluble in the presence of salt and alcohol [CITATION
Sci09 \n \l 13321 ]. Essentially, ethanol is less dense than water and will float on top. Moreover,
cold ethanol helps the DNA to precipitate more quickly [CITATION Nuf11 \n \l 13321 ].
Furthermore, ethanol is used to make the DNA visible. When the ethanol mixes with the cell
lysate, DNA will come out of the solution, forming a cloud of stringy fibers at the point where
the ethanol and cell lysate layer. On other hand, chilled ethanol increases the yield of DNA
because low temperatures protect the DNA by slowing down the activity of enzymes that could
break it apart.
The isolation of the DNA from a target organisms help scientists in their downstream
works because DNA contains information about their heritage, and evolutionary relationships.
Diagnostically, removing a sample of DNA from a patient’s cells can sometimes reveal whether
they are at risk for certain heritable diseases. For instance, mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2
genes are known to increase the risk of breast and ovarian cancer. Taxonomically, DNA
extraction and sequencing will help determine the evolutionary relationships among organisms
because DNA data is much more reliable than using morphological characters. On the other
hand, DNA is said to be the organism’s genetic fingerprint because it represents the blueprint of
the organism’s genetic makeup. Therefore, DNA pattern is a unique sequence such that it can be
distinguished from the DNA patterns of other individuals just like fingerprint is. This concept is
very critical DNA fingerprinting. For instance, in criminal investigations, the DNA fingerprint of
a suspect's blood or other body material is use compared to that of the evidence recovered from
the crime scene to see how closely they match. Overall, it may be said that DNA extraction can
be feasible using homemade materials despite the availability of DNA extraction kits in the
market. Also, all the materials involved in the extraction help the researcher understand their
purpose in the procedure both mechanically and chemically. Nevertheless, the researcher needs
to point out the necessity to follow each step in DNA extraction to have good yield of DNA.

References
Brennan, J. (2018, May 21). Sciencing. Retrieved from Sciencing: https://sciencing.com/components-
lysis-buffers-8148370.html

Nuffield Foundation. ( 2011, November 24). Nuffield Foundation . Retrieved from Nuffield Foundation :
http://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/practical-biology/extracting-dna-living-things

Science Learning Hub. (2009, June 18). Science Learning Hub. Retrieved from Science Learn:
https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/resources/2036-dna-extraction

Jackman, L. (n.d.). DNA Daily. Retrieved from Weebly.com: https://dnadnaily.weebly.com/activities-

cheek-cells-extraction.html
Fig. 1. Grape Fruit DNA. The white
clump (DNA) precipitate and suspend
at the surface but it was accidentally
shake causing some to stay at the
middle.
Fig. 2. Human Cheek Cell DNA. The
white jelly-like suspending in the
solution were the cheek cell DNA (but
we yield only few of it).