DIY Science: How to Extract DNA from a Strawberry - University of Leicester

Here’s a quick and easy experiment that you can do at home so you can see what DNA looks like for yourself.

All you need is:
1. Some fruit we’ll be using strawberries but bananas and kiwis also work well
2. about 100mls of water
3. few drops of washing up liquid
4. pinch of table salt
5. high-proof alcohol such as rum or methylated spirits also work well

You’ll be using:
1. a zip-lock bag
2. funnel
3. coffee filter
4. a glass
5. shot glass - plastic ones from the supermarket work well

Then just follow the video and off you go!

This clip was produced by External Relations at the University of Leicester.

Filmed and Edited by Carl Vivian
Produced by Professor Turi King

[ojjuiceman]

Finally. I remember doing this experiment in school and telling people I extracted DNA and looked at it under a microscope. I could never remember the exact thing I used to get it and have looked for this experiment before.

[carolynzanta]

Note that the soap breaks down the cell MEMBRANES (made of fats) - not the cell walls (made of carbohydrates).

[EzekielBread-fvxc]

you had my curiosity... and now you have my attention.

[saminaraja]

Who has only watched this video just cause the teachers told you to in year 6

[emilieparis]

How do we know if what we got really is DNA?

[not...not...no.]

she had a spontaneous mix of american and british accent haha

[kristinegaming_]

can we instead of alcohol by using sanitizer

[moremistv]

What exactly is the use of the liquid detergent, ma'am?

[KgaugeloKubyane]

What is the hypothesis of this experiment

[blancaroca]

Isn’t dna supposed to super long chain molecule like can be many centimeters long. Just wondering how it passes through filter pores? Perhaps kind of slides through lengthways? Can’t the strawberry be crushed by eg with a mallet or in a food mixer or would that break dna molecules? Maybe we can get the dna out and test it somehow.?

[omsingharjit]

Is is possible to cut this dna for dna fingerprint exp ?

[ISTHISALREADYTAKEN]

odd question. Can you do this from your own blood.

[Brittany]

Why not puree the strawberry in the blender? does the strawberry need to be more in tact?

[piggydk]

Thank You! Works great, hand sanitiser will also work.

[anilkumarsharma]

put the genome of big trees with sunflower rotation genes so we got mechanical movement and extract energy from it's movement

[sillylilguy]

doing this for my science experiment, thanks!

[dinkelchoudhary]

I have to watch this whole video and write summary on this for assignment why 😢😢

[not...not...no.]

isnt she from the bbc show ab genetic thingy majiggy where they get people's long lost relatives together by finding dna

i think YEAH FAMILY SECRETS THAT'S THE ONE i only know it cuz our science teacher put it on hahaha

[senguttuvank]

Who are all from Madurai American College

[rubyregan]

just strawberry you can buy that from Tesco if you really wanted