Presented at Catanduanes State University

Calatagan, Virac Catanduanes

October 26, 2022

LABORATORY REPORT ON DNA EXTRACTION

Title of the Report Experiment

ABSTRACT: Cells are the functional units of living things. They reproduce, in part, by making and
passing deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) from the parent cell to the offspring cell. All DNA is made up
of the same chemical bases, adenine, thymine, guanine, and cytosine. The order of the bases
determines the proteins the cell makes and the functions the cell performs.

OBJECTIVES:

In this activity, we will extract DNA from organic materials, for example, peas, red meats, or any kind of
fruits you want. Students will analyze how biological traits are passed on to successive generations

METHODOLOGY:

1. Preparation of Materials

The researches bought the following materials in preparation for the experiment.

 DNA source: banana

 A dish soaps
 Pineapple juice, papaya juice, or meat tenderizer
 70%-95% alcohol
 Various measuring devices and a test tube
 Ziplock bags or ice bags
 Small transparent plastic cups
2. Conducting the Experiment

The researchers obtained 1/2 cup of material (~100 ml), and mash the material inside a plastic bag.
It was then transferred into a transparent plastic cup and was filled with a 100 mL of cold water, until the
mash has milk shake consistency, with an addition of ½ spoon of table salt. The contents were mixed
thoroughly until the salt crystals dissolved. The mixture content was added of two spoons of liquid
detergent (~30 ml) and was mixed so that the cellular part of the DNA would separate. The cup was the
tilted and very carefully the alcohol was poured into the cup.

Fig.1 Mashed material inside the plastic bag Fig.2 Adding 100ml of water until the mash has a milk
shake consistency (also ½ spoon of table salt.)

Fig.3 Two spoons of liquid detergent Fig.4 Cold alcohol was gently added to the mixture until it reached half of
was added to the mixture the amount of the mixture
RESULTS:

After allowing the mixture to settle and precipitate the researchers managed to successfully extract the
DNA from the banana. The DNA was described to appear like a white form of clumps made of string-like strands
that wraps around the cotton swab.

Fig.5 Close up image of an unextracted Fig.6 Extraction of DNA (left) and the Extracted DNA (right)
DNA from the mixture

Questions to Consider

1. Why salty DNA precipitate in alcohol whereas non-salty DNA does not?
 DNA is soluble in water. That means it can dissolve in water. However, it is not soluble when
alcohol and salt are present. Lab technicians can add ethanol or isopropyl alcohol (rubbing
alcohol) so that the DNA clumps and form a visible white precipitate.

2. What can be the mechanism of breaking down cell membranes by dish soap?
 These membranes, which are essentially thin films of oil surrounding the cell, disintegrate in soap.
In other words, dish soap removes oil from dishes and pans while also destroying cell membranes.
Lipid molecules are the building blocks of oil and cell membranes.

3. Why pineapple juice/papaya juice are added to the mixture? What are their roles in the DNA extraction
experiment?
 (Pineapple and papaya juice perform the same function in this experiment as meat tenderizer.)
When DNA is packaged in the nucleus, it is wound tightly around proteins. Bromelain and papain
enzymes break down these proteins and release the DNA with minimal breakage.

4. What did the DNA look like? Relate what you know about the chemical structure of DNA to what you
observed today.
 It looked like white, thin fibers wadded up together forming a clump. Because DNA comes in long
strands, I was able to identify that each individual strand was a piece of DNA.