Group members: Elbert Zariel E.

Ayo
Edchel Sombilon
Divine Conzon
Mae Felannie Garciano
Mart Subere

Date Performed: 09/29/21

Year and Course: 2nd year Date Submitted: 09/29/21
Subject title: PHBIO3L Code number: 3785
Name of Professor: Ms. Emelie Grace Cachero Score: ______________________

Exercise no. 8
DNA ISOLATION FROM STRAWBERRIES

I. INTRODUCTION

In 1953, James Waston and Francis Crick proposed a molecular model of

DNA ( Deoxyribonucleic acid) after a year and a half of joint work at Cambridge
University. So completely was their model substantiated by subsequent investigations
that team shared a Nobel Prince in 1962 with Maurice Wilkins.
The basic unit of structure of the DNA molecule is the nucleotide. This is also
the basic unit incorporated in DNA during synthesis. The nucleotide consists of three
parts: A phosphate, a sugar, and nitrogenous bases.

II. OBJECTIVES:
At the end of the experiment, each student will be able to:

1. To determine whether the students were successful in isolating

a DNA fragment from the sample.
2. To extract the DNA from a strawberry

III. MATERIALS
1-3 strawberries (about the volume of a golf ball). Frozen strawberries
should be thawed at room temperature.
10 ml DNA Extraction Buffer (soapy salty water)
About 20 ml ice cold 91% or 100% isopropyl alcohol
1 Ziploc TM bag, 3- test tubes, test tube brush, test tube holder, test tube
rack, 1 Funnel ,1 Coffee stirrer or transfer pipette, 10g baking soda, 2g
NaCl
Microscope, glass slide, cover slip, triple beam balance, 1-10ml graduated
cylinder, 2-water bath, White cloth, toothpick

IV. PROCEDURE

1. Remove the green sepals from the strawberries.

2. Place strawberries into a Ziploc TM bag and seal shut.
3. Squish for a few minutes to completely squash the fruit.
4. Add 10 ml DNA Extraction Buffer (soapy salty water) and squish for a few more
minutes. Try not to make a lot of soap bubbles. (buffer must be chilled /place with
an ice)
Buffer solution: 120ml water, 1.5g NaCl, 5g baking soda
5. Filter through a moistened paper towel set in a funnel, and collect the liquid in a
clear test tube. Do not squeeze the paper towel. Collect about 5 ml of liquid.
6. Add the alcohol gently to the top of the solution about an inch and a half above
the solution.
7. Add 2 volumes ice cold isopropyl alcohol to the strawberry liquid in the tube.
Pour the isopropyl alcohol carefully down the side of the tube so that it forms a
separate layers on top of the strawberry liquid.
8. Watch for about a minute. What do you see? You should see a white fluffy cloud
at the interface between the two liquids. That’s DNA!
9. Spin and stir the coffee stirrer or transfer pipette in the tangle of DNA, wrapping
the DNA around the stirrer.
10. Pull out the stirrer and transfer the DNA to a piece of saran wrap or clean tube.
The fibers are thousands and millions of DNA strands.
11. To view in a microscope, put the glob on a clean slide and gently tease/stretch
apart using 2 toothpicks or dissecting pins. The fibers will be easier to see the
teased-apart area.
12. Rinse your funnel. Put the Ziploc TM bag and white cloth in the garbage.

V. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

1. Where you able to isolate DNA fragment from your sample? If yes, what is
the evidence of your isolates?

Strawberries were employed in this experiment since each cell has eight
duplicates of the genome, making it much easier to extract DNA because there
are so many cells in each cell and just one in the others. In the mixture of
smashed strawberries, when salt and detergent have been added, the detergent
had lyse (pop open) the strawberries and released the DNA to the solution,
however, salts have worked to create a space where the multiple streams of DNA
can be gathered and clump which made observable. When the combination
comes with salt and the detergent, more detergent in the bag formed. After cold
rubbing alcohol was added to the filtered strawberry fluid, the liquid was
precipitated from the liquid. Thus, The bulk of the liquid was kept in its solution.

Furthermore, white or slimy DNA strands can be found both in the alcohol layer
and between the two layers. A single strand of DNA that is clumped together in
this activity shows how many strawberries there are when all its octoploid cells
are combined. The isolates, therefore, resembled spider webs to demonstrate the
insulation of the DNA fragment from the sample. Long and thin filaments
 emerge in the precipitate of the DNA. It appears as a white, hazy, or fine stringy
substance. Hence, DNA isolates are far too tiny to be seen.
2. Fill out the table below:

Purine bases Pyrimidine bases

Adenine Pair with Thymine
Cytosine Pair with Guamine

3. Draw the structural formula of the DNA molecule and properly label its three
components: Nitrogen base, phosphate group, and sugar. Determine also which
type of bond that link between nitrogen base pairs, sugar and phosphate group.

VI. CONCLUSION

Although other fruits are soft and simple to pulverize, strawberries are ideal for DNA
extraction in the laboratory. It's simply because they produce far more DNA than
other fruits and are octoploid, which means they contain eight copies of each type of
DNA chromosome at the time of determination. Furthermore, Nitrogen base,
Phosphate group, and Sugar are all components of a DNA molecule that are linked by
a covalent bond. Finally, ripe strawberries are an ideal source of DNA
extraction because again they are easy to pulverize and contain enzymes called
pectinases and cellulases that aid in cell wall breakdown.