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:
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
Ripe strawberries are a good source of DNA extraction because strawberries have
large amout of DNA and it can easily extracted because strawberries contain eight copies
of each chromosome (they are octoploid), there is a lot of DNA to separate. Every cell in
plants and animals has DNA. Strawberry DNA may be retrieved using simple everyday
items. Strawberries are soft and pulverize easily.
