Dna Extraction from Kiwi free essay sample

For this lab we are asked to obtain the DNA of kiwi. I think we are doing this to get a picture of how scientists observe certain aspects of organisms by extracting DNA. For example, scientists can identity genetic disorders and perhaps even find cures by experimenting with the DNA. I also think that the purpose of this experiment is to have a better picture of the appearance of DNA in comparison to the pictures we see in our textbooks. Deoxyribonucleic acid which is usually abbreviated as DNA is a molecule that is found in any living cell of an organism. DNA has instructions for the cell. This molecule exists inside of the nucleus in a cell. The DNA molecule consists of four nitrogen bases called, adenine, thymine, guanine, and cytosine. The nitrogen bases lead to the formation of the rungs of the DNA ladder. DNA plays a key role in the formation, growth, and reproduction in any organism and cells. The picture below will illustrate the appearance of DNA: In addition to everything, doing this DNA kiwi extraction shows how simple it may be to extract DNA from a living organism which is very essential because DNA gives important information about a certain living organism. The investigation question for this lab is: How to obtain the DNA of kiwi and how it works? Hypothesis If I mash the kiwi fruit so that the surface area is big and some cells may break and add another mixture to the kiwi mash then I’ll get the DNA because there are particular chemicals that may break or dissolve certain parts of the cells and leave a cluster of DNA or perhaps the chromosomes which contain the DNA. Variables Independent: there aren’t any. Dependent: there aren’t any. Controlled: source of DNA-the kiwi, Materials Half a kiwi fruit * Knife or your hands (to mush the kiwi and peel it) * 2. 5g soap * 1g salt * 50ml ice cold alcohol * 50ml water * Kettle * Coffee filter * 2 beakers (1 should be big so that the other fit in it) * Measuring cylinder Procedure Follow the following steps in order to obtain the DNA of kiwi: 1. Peel the skin of the kiwi with a knife because the skin is partly dead and doesn’t contain much DNA. 2. Chop the kiwi into 4 pieces. 3. Place the pieces of kiwi in a beaker and mash it as much as possible. The purpose of doing this is to provide a large surface area and break some cells obviously to extract the DNA. 4. Take another beaker and mix the washing liquid, salt, and water together in anticipation of the salt to dissolve. Avoid getting bubbles in this mixture. 5. When the salt has dissolved in the mixture, pour it in the kiwi mash, and start mashing again. The more you mash, the better it is because you’ll get more DNA. 6. Boil water and half-fill a large beaker with the boiled water at 60 degrees Centigrade. . Place the beaker of the kiwi mash and the other mixture gently in the boiled water in the big beaker. 8. Leave the beaker there for about 15 minutes. 9. Take out the kiwi mixture beaker and filter the mixture through a coffee filter into another beaker. 10. The final step is to pour gently the ice cold alcohol down the side of the beaker. Since the alcohol is less dense, it’ll float on top of the kiwi mixture. A white jelly-like substance will form which i s a cluster of DNA from the kiwi fruit. Result During our experiment, we have achieved the purpose of the experiment and obtained the DNA of the kiwi. I will be discussing how everything works in the discussion below. Discussion/Conclusion My hypothesis is partly true and partly in accurate as well which was: â€Å"If I mash the kiwi fruit so that the surface area is big and some cells may break and add another mixture to the kiwi mash then I’ll get the DNA because there are particular chemicals that may break or dissolve certain parts of the cells and leave a cluster of DNA or perhaps the chromosomes which contain the DNA†. My hypothesis is partly true because it’s actually true that you mash the kiwi fruit and mix other substances to it. However, it’s also inaccurate because I don’t really state what those other substances could possibly be and I also don’t mention anything about heating the mixture which is a very important step that breaks the cell walls. And without breaking the cell wall, the washing up liquid wouldn’t be able to dissolve the cell membranes. As a result, the lab would have been a failure without that step which is why I believe my hypothesis is not accurate. Answer to hypothesis question: how to obtain the DNA of kiwi and how it works? The purpose of this science lab was to obtain the DNA of the kiwi fruit. However, what actually happens to the kiwi mash when we add other substances to it is very interesting. The purpose of using soap was to destroy the cell’s membranes where the soap easily dissolved the membranes. But the washing liquid can’t dissolve the cell membranes if the cell wall guards the cell, which is why heated up the mash so the cell wall would break. Salt on the other hand was used to remove proteins and carbohydrates where the salt precipitated it. The salt also creates a cluster of DNA to be attached together. The last step is to add the ice cold alcohol which coagulates in order to create a jelly-like substance which we picked up with a pipette. And since the alcohol is less dense the alcohol will form a see-through layer on top of the kiwi mash. The alcohol will form a transparent layer on top of the kiwi mixture, as the alcohol is less dense. Results I believe that I can trust my results because I obtained the DNA of kiwi which was the goal of the experiment. What actually happens to the cell during the procedure? Cells are made up of cell walls (brown), cell membranes (blue), proteins (green), and nucleus which have the DNA (black). The high temperature breaks the cell wall as you can see in the image to the right. This allows the washing up liquid to dissolve the cell membranes. As you can see in the image to the left, the washing up liquid has dissolved the cell membranes. The salt makes the DNA stick together as one cluster. And finally when the alcohol is added, a jelly-like substance is formed which contains the DNA. Possible Improvements I think that there aren’t numerous improvements regarding these types of labs where you have only one goal and you achieve it. For example, we could have been more accurate when it comes to measuring the materials using a measuring cylinder. We could have also been more accurate in keeping the temperature constant when heating the kiwi mash mixture.