EXTRACCIÓN DE ADN

Carlos Eduardo Vásquez- 11vo Grado | Saint Johns Academy

EXTRACCIÓN DE DNA 1
 Índice!
Pág.
Introduction……………………………………………………………………………… 3

Materials………………………………………..…………………………….………….. 3

Procedure…………………………………………………………………………..…..… 4

Scientific explanations of the procedure ………………………………….…….… 6

Personal assessment…………………………………………………….…...……….. 8

webgraphy …………………………………………………………………….…………. 9

EXTRACCIÓN DE DNA 2
 Introduction
Every living organism is made up of the widely studied and well-known DNA
molecule. We know that living organisms come from a single ancestral cell called
LUCA. This fact tells us that among living organisms we share much more than we
could sometimes imagine. For example, humans share 50% of their DNA with the
banana. However, the percentage of DNA that we share depends on how it is
measured. If we measure identical base pair sequences then it is quite low, but if we
look at genes with identical or similar functions then it is indeed 50%. Some of the
things these genes code for are basic
biochemistry: DNA replication, transcription,
translation, DNA metabolism (recombination,
repair), cell metabolism (catabolism and
anabolism), and regulation of metabolism. cell
cycle (mitosis). These types of genes are named
by biologists as “conserved sequences”.

Materials
- Strainer and filter
- Detergent

- Water

- Salt

- Ethyl
Chlorine 96%
- Spoon
- Banana

EXTRACCIÓN DE DNA 3
 Procedure
1. Crushing the banana: Cut a small piece of the banana, with the help of a spoon,
fork or mixer we will crush the piece that we cut.

2. Detergent + Salt + banana: Let's pour a little water into the banana and mix to be
able to pour a little detergent, then we mix it, then we will put a little salt to mix
again.

3. DNA separation: to separate the DNA we must pass our sample to a strainer,
to separate the mass from the liquid, then we will put the liquid in a tube.

EXTRACCIÓN DE DNA 4
 4. Observation of the DNA: Very slowly pour the alcohol into the test tube with
the solution. In a few seconds we will be able to observe three different layers.
On top of everything will be the alcohol, below will be the cellular remains
(membranes, organelles) of the banana and the other components of the solution
and at the interface we will observe a kind of white threads surrounded by
bubbles, That's the DNA.

EXTRACCIÓN DE DNA 5
 Scientific explanations of the procedure

DNA is found inside the nucleus of eukaryotic cells surrounded by proteins that hold
it together and compact. To be able to isolate and observe it, the plasma membrane
and nuclear envelope must be undone, and the denaturation of the proteins is also
required.

- Banana Crushing: Increasing the surface area of the banana helps make the
membrane surface easier to dissolve and also allows for more effective absorption of
heat and solutions to be added.

- Detergent: Cell membranes are made up of two lipid layers with transmembrane
proteins across them. The detergent helps to break down the phospholipid bilayer of
plasma membranes and the nuclear envelope. Membrane lipids are broken down by
the detergent that breaks down the bonds that hold the membrane together. When
the detergent comes into contact with the lipids, they separate from the membrane,
breaking it. The structure of lipids is similar to that of detergent and this causes them
to combine, forming a bubble of detergent and lipids.

EXTRACCIÓN DE DNA 6
- Filtration: This step allows us to separate the remains of the banana tissues and the
cells that we have broken in the previous steps. We are not interested in this material
and it will be retained in the strainer (the largest remains) or in the filter (smaller
remains). The filtrate we get is the one that contains the free DNA of the nuclear
membrane.

- Alcohol: DNA is a polar molecule, but the reaction with ethanol makes it insoluble in
ethanol, forming a precipitate just between the layer with liquid ethanol and the layer
with the extract. The DNA is the only component of the solution that is not soluble in
ethanol, and it becomes visible because the different chains agglutinate each other
when precipitating due to the action of physical forces. The alcohol is less dense than
the water in the extract and therefore floats on top of the extract layer.

- Salt: The DNA molecule is soluble in water and therefore invisible, but if DNA that
has been in a salty medium is brought into contact with alcohol, the DNA becomes
insoluble and precipitates. Therefore, salt water helps precipitation in alcohol. Salt
also helps separate DNA from histones.

EXTRACCIÓN DE DNA 7
 Personal assessment

Before discovering this experiment, I would not have imagined that extracting DNA
from a living organism would be so simple, much less using ingredients that we have
at home such as detergent, salt or a banana.

The procedure does not allow a complete purification of the DNA, what is more,
what we observe is not only DNA but a mixture of nucleic acids (RNA and DNA). On
the one hand, I know that I have obtained DNA since that is what the web pages
that I have consulted say and the results correspond to these, but on the other
hand, I still have the doubt as to whether the white threads that I see are really
nucleic acids. I guess I would need to run another protocol that would allow me to
specifically stain nucleic acids and it would be nice if I had the necessary material to
manipulate it and do more experiments with it. Despite this, I liked carrying out an
experiment at home and, moreover, in less than an hour.
From here I have doubts such as, for example, if I had used another organism with
more chromosomes, would I have obtained more DNA? Or, could you perform this
experiment with human cells or are more complex processes required?

EXTRACCIÓN DE DNA 8
 webgraphy
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPgSfu3nig8&ab_channel=Bioonline
- http://www.funsci.com/fun3_en/dna/dnaen.htm
- http://leadersk.tripod.com/
- http://www.biologyjunction.com/extracting_dna.htm

EXTRACCIÓN DE DNA 9