Yes, plants have DNA, too. Extracting it from a strawberry is a great way to appreciate the structure and appearance of DNA strands. This is a good way to recognize the genetic foundation of every organism.
What you need:
- Skewer (sharpened pencil, toothpick, or fork)
- 2 teaspoons of water
- Paper towel (other options are wire mesh and cheesecloth)
- ΒΌ teaspoon of dish soap
- Strawberry
- A cup of rubbing alcohol
- Ziploc bag
- A pinch of salt
- Measuring spoons
- Containers such as a glass cup
- Rubber band
How to do it:
- Place the rubbing alcohol in the freezer for at least 30 minutes. It will not freeze so you can even leave it in there overnight.
- Put your strawberry in the Ziploc bag. Seal it.
- Mash the strawberry. Make sure to do it near the bottom part.
- Add two teaspoons of water to your glass.
- Then, add a quarter teaspoon of dish soap to the water. The dish soap will help break the strawberry cells. This will release the DNA.
- Sprinkle a pinch of salt into the glass. This will help the DNA strands to group together. Clumping will make them visible without the use of a microscope.
- Stir your mixture. This will be your DNA extraction solution.
- Add your extraction solution to your mashed strawberry.
- Secure a paper towel to the top of your glass with a rubber band.
- Push the center of the paper towel as gently as possible. This will create a well that will hold the strawberry mash mixture.
- Pour your strawberry mash mixture onto the paper towel. Wait to collect the droplets of the strawberry mash mixture.
- After about three minutes, remove the paper towel and the strawberry mash. There should be some drops in your glass. You should have some small drops in your glass. The drops will contain DNA.
- Add cold alcohol to the mixture.
- See if there are DNA strands that are moving toward the DNA strands by themselves.
- Use your skewer to pick up your DNA strands.
- Swirl it and watch it move in your solution.