Today, we conducted a experiment on fruit to find out more about DNA. To do it, we needed a strawberry, a banana, soap, salt, water, and ethanol/rubbing alcohol.

The procedure

We started off by putting the strawberry and the banana in separate ziplock bags, adding the salt, soap, and water to each one. Then, we crushed the contents as much as we could and let them sit for 5 minutes. When the 5 minutes were up, we transferred 1/2 of each to 2 test tubes. The final step was adding ethanol, which caused the DNA to be extracted from the fruits and visible to us.

Above is a side-by-side comparison of the 2 samples. The white foam is DNA.

We used a paper clip to take it out and get a better look.

What I learned

I learned that different fruits’ DNA reacts differently to this procedure. The banana’s DNA floated to the surface of the clear liquid, whereas the strawberry’s stayed closer to the strawberry mix. This could have been caused by a lack of ethanol, but I think it was, in fact, the DNA reacting differently.

Why this was an important activity to complete

This lab was important to complete because we got the chance to see what DNA looks like when it’s not under a microscope. Typically, when I think about this hereditary substance, I picture one of those up close pictures of a perfect DNA strand. With this activity, I was able to see a much more realistic version of it.