Investigate with Your DNA Electrophoresis Kit

For biology science fair projects, separating DNA and analyzing its strands can be easy and fun with this DNA electrophoresis kit. It uses an agarose gel and colored dyes to achieve DNA isolation. The attached instructions guide students through steps such as gel casting and sample loading. Then, in the process of staining electrophoresis, a colored dye is used to track the mobility of each DNA component. This gel electrophoresis kit will give you the means to perform three informative and fascinating experiments.

This project on genome amplification was made possible by using the DNA electrophoresis kit.

Free Science Fair Projects: Experiment on Genome Amplification

Log Book

The only reason that I can actually remember what I did 10 years ago is that I kept a detailed log book. In it, I wrote dated entries of every single thing I did that related to the project. I do mean every single thing. A stranger to your research should be able to duplicate your experiment by following your log book.

Background

A good science project has background, a problem or question needing solving or answering. My project dealt with whole genome amplification. Whole Genome Amplification deals with making copies of all of the DNA in the nucleus of a cell. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is the process used to make these copies. A primer is an enzyme that starts the reaction. Using a DNA electrophoresis kit, I tested different primers to see if I could find one that extended at least 3-8 kilobases, which is quite large. Since I obviously needed to bring myself up to speed on whole genome amplification, I studied many books after my initial meeting with the PhD.

Hypothesis

My hypothesis, or "guess," was that enzymes would show different levels of productivity during PCR.

Procedure

In a scientific experiment, a clear procedure must be followed. Logical steps must be taken to answer the question you are asking. Results must be measured in some way. In my experiment, I purposed to run a PCR of four primers (Vent, Pfu, KlenTaq and Taqplus Long) for a specific locus (gene). An electrophoresis gel would be run to measure my results. Gel electrophoresis can measure the magnitude of DNA products because it is a biochemical technique that separates charged molecules according to their size, shape, and charge.

Results

The results of my initial experiment with agarose electrophoresis and DNA analysis were not as conclusive as hoped. The primer Vent ended up yielding the best results. I repeated the experiment, getting the same results. I also tested my control, and played around with the concentrations of the enzymes I used.

Limitations

Most projects have their limitations, and can be improved in some way. I went to the first science fair without being able to fully improve my project. After competing in the first fair, I was able to settle down for a month and hone my project a little more before the next one came up. I was able to test a whole new primer system called Expand. When I photographed my electrophoresis gel and saw how Expand had amplified my DNA, I was excited to realize that it had actually amplified at least 20 kilobases of template DNA.

Expand is now used at the medical research center where I conducted my experiment. It has continued to prove itself true to my results and is used by the scientists there to amplify DNA. This primer enables whole or unmanipulated DNA to be polymerized.

Author's Bio - When Beverly Smith was in tenth grade she was able to work for a nearby medical research center, assisting a biophysicist with some of his research. The first science fair began in February, and she started her research with him in November. The research had applications to the Human Genome Project, which is an international effort to map the positions of every one of the 100,000 genes in the human body.