Why do strawberry need dna

DNA is present in every cell of plants and animals. The DNA found in strawberry cells can be extracted using common, everyday materials. Strawberries are soft and easy to pulverize. Strawberries have large genomes; they are octoploid, which means they have eight of each type of chromosome in each cell. Thus, strawberries are an exceptional fruit to use in DNA extraction labs and strawberries yield more DNA than any other fruit i.

We will use an extraction buffer containing salt, to break up protein chains that bind around the nucleic acids, and dish soap which helps to dissolve the phospholipid bilayers of the cell membrane and organelles. Thanks for reading Scientific American. Create your free account or Sign in to continue.

See Subscription Options. Discover World-Changing Science. Build a Cooler. Get smart. Sign up for our email newsletter. Sign Up. Each nucleotide has the following:. To form the double helix, these nucleotides pair together using the base-pairing rules. In which, A pairs with T and C pairs with G. The long, thick fibers of DNA store the information for the functioning of the chemistry of life.

Strawberries are an exceptional fruit to use for this DNA extraction lesson because they yield more DNA than any other fruit i. Strawberries are octoploid, meaning that they have eight copies of each type of chromosome.

Place one strawberry per student in a plastic baggie and remove most of the air. Mash the strawberries with your hands. Carefully strain the mashed strawberry over a bowl or beaker and retain the liquid portion. How does what you observe in your DNA sample relate to what you know about its chemical structure?

Update your browser to view this website correctly. The shampoo helps dissolve the fatty cell membrane, while the salt makes the DNA molecules stick together and breaks up the proteins that bind to the DNA.

The alcohol causes the DNA to precipitate, or rise to the top of the solution. Try to extract DNA from other fruits and vegetables like grapes, kiwi, tomatoes, bananas or lettuce. Which fruit or vegetable produces the most DNA? Cells are the functional and structural unit for life in both plants and animals. There are pretty obvious differences between the two, but also many similarities. Both have many of the same organelles, including a nucleus, which is the control for the cell.