Investigating And Extract Chromatin From Plant And Animal Tissues

Introduction: All organisms have DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid) in the nuclei of their cells. The aim of this experiment is to extract this DNA using common household detergent to breakdown the cellular membrane then through the use of ethanol to extract the DNA from the Kiwi and Strawberry fruit. After the DNA has been extracted the DNA will be visualised by agarose gel electrophoresis which is done by adding a dye to the extracted DNA then being placed in the gel, once the negatively charged DNA has been placed in the gel it will slowly move towards the positively charged end (anode) then is viewed under an ultraviolet light then compared to the control of known lengths of DNA to show the size of the unknown DNA samples.

The DNA contains four types base: A (adenine) and T (thymine), G (guanine) and C (cytosine). These four letters make up the genetic alphabet and they spell out the commands for every single cell and organ of the body and also determine all the characteristics of the person.

In UNIT 7 you learned about the basics structure as well as the basic functions of deoxyribonucleic acid. You learned that deoxyribonucleic acid carries an “instruction manuel” to produce proteins that are responsible for passing traits from your parents to you. As you demonstrated in the previous activity, deoxyribonucleic acid is made of four nucleotides base pairs: adenine, thymine, cytosine, and guanine. They are often abbreviated as A, T, C, and G. The uniqueness of deoxyribonucleic acid is not particularly in just these 4 subunits, but how they are arranged. In this activity you will recreate protein synthesis.

Deoxyribonucleic acid, or in its’ simple form DNA, contains the code for all characteristics of an organism which is completed by a double helix structure. The structure is made up of a back bone and the four gene groups which include thymine, adenine, cytosine and guanine. The double helix structure contributes to the cell division process

A stable DNA structure is formed when the two strands are a constant distance apart. This can only occur when a purine (A or G) on one strand is paired with a pyrimidine (T or C) on the other strand. The purine A can only pair up with the pyrimidine T and the purine G can only pair up with the pyrimidine C. Each letter corresponds to a specific nucleotide base. (Wexler 2) A nucleotide is any part of a group of molecules that, when linked together, form the building blocks of DNA or RNA.

All eukaryotic cells get their genetic information from DNA, which are strands of nucleotides whose order conveys genetic information to the cell. Structurally, DNA looks like a ladder. A DNA strand is made up of a sugar-phosphate backbone (similar to the sides of a ladder, alternating sugar and phosphate) and is connected in the middle with paired purines and pyrimidines (fancy names for four chemicals that make up the steps of the ladder). Scientists refer to the distinctive shape of DNA as "a double helix."

When analyzing DNA it is important to understand it and all the chemicals that it is made of. The first thing that’s important to know is simply what DNA stands for, which is deoxyribonucleic acid. The chemical units are called nucleotides, and each nucleotide has a compound of phosphate sugar which is the backbone, and a sugar deoxyribose. The Phosphates and sugars are the same in all nucleotides but the one thing that is different would be the bases. DNA bases are cytosine, thymine, adenine, and guanine. Each base has specific partner, for example Cytosine will always pair with guanine. And Thymine will always pair with adenine.

The shape of the molecule is described as a “double helix”. The building blocks of DNA are nucleotides. A nucleotide consists of one phosphate molecule, a five-sided sugar molecule (deoxyribose sugar), and one nitrogen base.

The base pairs are very specific on which two can bond together based on the number of rings that they have. Adenine and Guanine are purines, meaning they are composed of two rings. Thymine and Cytosine are pyrimidines which means they are composed of one ring. Purines always bond with pyrimidines, therefore Adenine always bonds with Thymine, and Guanine always bonds with Cytosine. The base pairs are complementary, and almost fit together like a lock and key (CK-12 Foundation, 2017). These nitrogenous bases are bonded together with 1 hydrogen bond. The bases are located in the center of the DNA strand in a specific pattern according to the DNA they are apart of. The name for the base Adenine comes from a greek word “aden” meaning internal gland, and a chemical suffix “ine”. Another base, Thymine, gets its name from thymic acid which it was isolated from, obtained from the thymus gland with the chemical suffix “ine”. Guanine gets its name from guano which the chemical was first isolated from, and the chemical suffix “ine”. Lastly, Cytosine gets its name from “cyto” meaning cell, along with the chemical suffix “ine” that also makes up the other nitrogenous bases (Online Eytmology Dictionary,

One of the main conclusions drawn from this experiment was that the cis memory system is the one used to inherit modified histones because they concluded that epigenetic memory is stored locally in FLC gene. One of the main pieces of evidence to support this is in Figure 3 of this paper. This figure describes heritable expression states, and it is concluded that the cis memory system is used because mitotic stability of all four possible combinations (ON/ON, ON/OFF, OFF/ON, and OFF/OFF) are observed. ‘Mixed’ ON/OFF and OFF/ON states are only seen in cis systems, thus the trans system cannot be implemented. Using this they were also able to show that two identical DNA sequences can have different transcriptional states in the same nucleus, which is only demonstrated by cis memory. Another conclusion they were able to make was that PRC2 is necessary for histone

It contains phosphate group, a sugar group and a nitrogen base. There are four different types of nitrogen bases which are adenine(A), guanine(G), cytosine (C) and thymine (T). These bases are paired up: adenine (A) with thymine (T) and guanine (G) with cytosine (C). The order of which these base pairs go, it will determine the genetic code of a person. Since humans are made up with DNA, it could be found in the body including blood, semen, saliva, urine, feces, hair, teeth, bone, tissue and

DNA is a long curved structure, made up of pairs of four specific bases: adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine, is the repository of a code from which all of our cells are made. The code is made up of base pairs which look like the

Deoxyribonucleic (DNA) is the molecule that hold the genetic information of living things. In our body every cell contains about 2 meters of DNA. DNA is copied every time a cell divides. Deoxyribonucleic (DNA) is made up of two polynucleotide strands. Polynucleotide strands twist around each other, forming a shape that looks like a ladder called a double helix. The two polynucleotide strands run antiaparallel to each other with nitrogenous bases this means that the stands run in opposite directions, parallel to one another. The DNA molecule consists of two backbones chains of sugars and phosphate groups. The organic bases held together by hydrogen bonds. Although bases bonded together are termed paired

RNA has functions of coding, regulation, decoding, and gene expression. RNA highlights the sequential output from genomes which gives the genetic information. They define the cells regulatory capabilities by their synthesis, translation, transport, processing, and modification. DNA, RNA and cellular proteins are the three most essential macromolecules responsible for the existence of life as we know it. This paper paves way for the generation of a catalogue that contains all the RNAs and their functions. The ENCODE project, which stands for Encyclopedia of DNA elements aims to catalogue and classify the RNA elements generated by human cells. This data acquisition is required to characterize and identify the functionalities that result due to the presence of the human genome sequence. The entire ENCODE project duration is divided into two phases:

Due to the DNA’s specificity, samples can be utilised for identification. DNA is a nucleic acid composed of deoxyribose sugar bound to a phosphate group and one of four nitrogenous bases (adenine, guanine, cytosine and thymine). Each section of these three components are referred to as nucleotides, which are joined to the phosphate or sugar of another nucleotide by strong covalent bonds to form a backbone. The nitrogenous bases are joined to complimentary bases of another nucleotide (adenine with thymine, guanine with cytosine) to create a double stranded molecule (Figure 2). To complete the double helical structure, the molecule coils to compact it’s contents. DNA molecules can contain up to two million base pairs, with a human genome containing approximately 3 million base pairs. The random assortment of nitrogenous bases as well as the numerous mutations within certain DNA sequences, results in genetically diverese DNA molecules and genomes between individials.