Here's a brief summary of the goings-on Monday night in Park Slope. We extracted the DNA from strawberries. Using shot glasses, buffers, alcohol, salt, coffee filters, even a champagne glass, we dripped the DNA free from its luscious abode. Turns out DNA is not nearly as pretty as the fruit. It looks like snot. Then, thanks to Ellen, her jigsaw, and some plexiglass (she made us a homemade gel electrophoresis box), we attempted to separate and visualize the sheared DNA strands. After a little fun with agar-agar (never to be used again) and alligator clips, we watched something, maybe dye, maybe DNA, migrate along the gel. Most probably it was the dye, since to get any kind of accurate concentration with the agar-agar was a nightmare (it had lumps that would not go away, and we ended up filtering it through cheesecloth) and the resulting gel was VERY solid. Oh, and we did all this with a slice of pizza or beer in one hand. And we're going to do it again next time with some other substances, possibly our cheek cells. Also, we'll remember to do some planning beforehand (beer, pizza, strawberries, agarose, you know).
We made a short video of the evening's fun:
(if this version is hard to view, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2HPVs25HlY&feature=channel_page )
Cool video! I'm looking forward to the sequel :-)
ReplyDeleteThis looks awesome. FYI I just purchased a 500g bottle of MB-grade agarose from a catalog. Consider it my contribution to the DIYbio-NYC cause.
ReplyDeleteAwesome video guys! keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteWhat kind of dye were you using? Methylene Blue or one of the SybrSafe / GR Safe dyes or something else? Did you see any fluorescence in your gel's wells?
Mac
Mac, it was from Lab Supply Mall and was called "Safe-n-EZ DNA Loading Buffer with GR Safe DNA Dye". Their website says "GR Safe is non-mutagenic in Ames tests performed by an independent testing laboratory. Your lab will not have to deal with hazardous EtBr waste: you can simply dispose of the gel as regular trash."
ReplyDeleteOur problem was that I was an idiot and did not read the directions carefully before using. The stuff arrived in 3 separate tubes, and I mixed them. Turns out that the DNA stain was supposed to go into the agarose gel, not the sample! We didn't see anything in the wells either.
In my defense, it was getting way past my bedtime by the time we finished fooling around with the strawberries and poured the gel :-)