DNA And Strawberry Cells
How does this experiment work?
DNA is found within the nucleus of each strawberry cell. To make the DNA accessible, first break open, or lyse, both the cell and its nucleus. We first mash the strawberries to mechanically break apart the tough cell walls of the strawberry cells. Once the cell walls have been broken apart, the cells are still surrounded by a membrane made up two layers of fat molecules (called a lipid bilayer). The detergent in our lysis buffer cuts through the fatty enclosure of the cell as well as the second fatty membrane surrounding the cell’s nucleus. This works much in the same way soap cuts through food grease. The salt in the lysis buffer helps keep molecules like DNA stable. At this point, the DNA is free from the cell/nucleus
DNA is found within the nucleus of each strawberry cell. To make the DNA accessible, first break open, or lyse, both the cell and its nucleus. We first mash the strawberries to mechanically break apart the tough cell walls of the strawberry cells. Once the cell walls have been broken apart, the cells are still surrounded by a membrane made up two layers of fat molecules (called a lipid bilayer). The detergent in our lysis buffer cuts through the fatty enclosure of the cell as well as the second fatty membrane surrounding the cell’s nucleus. This works much in the same way soap cuts through food grease. The salt in the lysis buffer helps keep molecules like DNA stable. At this point, the DNA is free from the cell/nucleus