what is dna? dna is a molecule that contains all of an organism’s genetic material and is...
TRANSCRIPT
What is DNA?• DNA is a molecule that
contains ALL of an organism’s genetic material and is therefore responsible for HEREDITY
• A strand of DNA contains many GENES all of which code for PROTEINS
• Each of these proteins has a different function in a cell
Two scientists, James Watson and Francis Crick, were the first to discover the structure of DNA
They referred to it as a DOUBLE HELIX because it contains two complementary
strands, each of which is shaped like a spiral staircase
DNA stands for Deoxyribonucleic
Acid
DNA is made up of 3 main components:
Deoxyribose – a sugar molecule
Phosphates – which make up part of the backbone
Nitrogenous bases – Thymine, Adenine, Guanine, Cytosine
How can we extract DNA from a cell?
DETERGENT (or soap) is used to LYSE (cut
up) the cell membrane.
Sodium Chloride = NaCl
The salt binds to the phosphate groups on the DNA strand and causes many DNA molecules to bind together
Ethanol (a type of alcohol) is used in DNA extraction. It
forces the DNA to PRECIPITATE out of the
solution
When alcohol is added to your DNA solution, you will notice that 2 separate layers form. The place where these two layers meet is called the INTERFACE
The interface is where you will be able to find the DNA you have extracted