Strawberry Dna Extraction Lab Report

Strawberry DNA Extraction

Emma Lehman

Ramzi Berro

Sylvania Southview High School

Honors Biology

Mrs Cappel

September 30, 2022

Abstract The goal of this experiment is to extract and view the DNA of a strawberry. DNA is extremely small and can only be viewed if there is an abundance of it in one place. This goal will be achieved by using an extraction solution consisting of water, detergent, and salt. Before the extraction can take place, you will need to crush a strawberry in a resealable bag. Once this is done you can add the solution and mix them together. After straining the combination you must add isopropyl alcohol. After a few minutes, a mucus-like substance will rise to the top. That substance is DNA.

Key Terms: DNA, extraction, solution

We accomplished this by following the given instruction and materials provided to us. The materials included: a heavy duty ziplock bag, 1 strawberry (fresh or frozen and thawed), cheesecloth, a funnel, 100 mL beaker, a test tube, and a Pipette. Reagents included: DNA extraction buffer which is made of up of 100 mL of shampoo, 15 g NaCl, 900 mL water OR 50mL liquid dishwashing detergent, 15 g NaCl and 950 mL water, and ice cold 95% ethanol or 95% isopropyl alcohol. The first step of the procedure was to place the strawberry into the heavy duty bag. Then, we carefully pressed out the air of the bag and sealed it. The strawberry was then smashed with our fists for 2 minutes. Next, we opened the bag carefully and added 10 mL of the extraction buffer into the bag, we again pressed out all of the air from the bag extremely carefully so as to not spill the strawberry or extraction buffer and sealed the bag once again. We then mixed the 2 together by using our fists. Next, we placed the cheesecloth in the funnel and put the funnel into the beaker. Then, we opened the bag and slowly began to pour the mixture into the funnel and began to filtrate into the test tube until it was 1/8th full. Next we poured our ice cold alcohol into the test tube until it was half way full and a layer formed over the top of the strawberry mixture. Finally, we mixed the two together with a Pipette tip and spooled the DNA out. We

The DNA appeared as a visible white, thread-like material that was spooled onto a glass rod. Although the yield of DNA was relatively low, the protocol effectively demonstrated the ability to extract DNA from a common fruit using easily accessible materials. The low yield of DNA could be due to several factors, including the ripeness of the strawberries and the amount of starting material used in the experiment. However, this experiment provides a foundation for further experimentation in optimizing the DNA extraction protocol and improving yield. Overall, this experiment highlights the importance of DNA extraction in biological research and the accessibility of extracting DNA from common fruits such as strawberries. Further experiments can be performed to improve the yield of DNA and to investigate the genetic material of different