Fall 2015

We learned how to extract DNA too!

2 Comments

Yesterday we did a lab where we learned how to extract DNA from strawberries. First we mashed up the strawberries.

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We added an extraction buffer (soapy, salty water) and mashed it up some more.  Then we filtered the juice into a cup.

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We used a pipette to add the strawberry juice to a test tube filled with ice cold ethanol.  We inverted the tube once to mix the juice with the ethanol. We could see the DNA separate from the juice. It rose to the top of the test tube and looked like a white slimy blob.

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We rubbed a glass rod on a t-shirt to give it a charge and we used the glass rod to “spool” the DNA out of the test tube.

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2 thoughts on “We learned how to extract DNA too!”

  2. Hi Mr. Clarke,
    Thank you for your questions. It took us about an hour to do the DNA Extraction lab. Some things that surprised us were:
    – the amount of DNA that came out of one strawberry
    – that the DNA came out in a big white clump
    – that we could actually see the DNA
    – some people were surprised that there was DNA in the strawberry
    We would recommend that you do this lab with your class too. It was a lot of fun.
    CEC Grade 10 Life Science class

    Reply

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