DNA Strawberry Lab
The chromosomes (which are made of DNA) are in the nucleus.
Most of the DNA is located here.
Where in the cell is the DNA found?
To break down the cell wall, cellular and nuclear membranes, to
break open the cells.
What was the purpose of mashing up the strawberry?
It will help provide us access to the DNA inside the cell by releasing
the DNA from the surrounding cell components of the crushed
strawberry.
What does the extraction buffer do? (Hint: Extraction buffer contains soap. What does soap do when you wash your hands?)
It removes the larger particles from the solution, such as seeds,
allowing only the smaller cell components such as the DNA,
proteins, etc. to filter through. It separated the components of the
cell.
What does the filter do?
It will help break up protein chains that bind around the nucleic
acid.
What does the salt in the extraction buffer do?
What does the dish soap in the extraction buffer do?
It will help dissolve the lipid (fat) part of the strawberry cell wall and
nuclear membrane = It will help dissolve the phospholipid bilayers
of the cell membrane and organelles.
1/2 What happened when you added the strawberry filtrate to the
alcohol?
The DNA separated/formed.
What did the DNA look like?
It looked like white, thin fibers wadded up together forming a
clump.
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 in a clump. Because DNA comes in
long strands, I was able to identify that each individual strand was
a piece of DNA.
Explain what happened in the final step when you added the
When ethanol was added it caused the DNA to precipitate from
ethanol to your strawberry extract. (Hint: DNA is soluble in water,
the solution and it did not dissolve with the ethanol.
but not ethanol).
It is analogous, because DNA isn't visible to the naked eye if it's
just one strand, but when many DNA strands are clumped together
like in this strawberry experiment, it is much easier to see.
A person cannot see a single cotton thread 100 feet away, but if
you wound thousands o threads together into a rope, it would be
visible much further away. Is this statement analogous to our DNA
extractions? Explain.
With the ability to remove DNA from an organism, scientists can
observe, manipulate, and classify the DNA. Scientists can identify
Why is it important for scientists to be able to remove DNA from
genetic disorders or diseases from studying DNA. Scientists can
an organism? List two reasons.
possibly find cures for these causes by manipulating or experimenting with this DNA.
Is there DNA in your food? How do you know?
Yes, DNA is present in all living and once living cells.
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DNA Analysis of Strawberries
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