Gel electrophoresis is a technique that uses an electrical current to separate DNA fragments by size. Our group performed gel electrophoresis by placing DNA markers and an unknown sample into an agarose gel tray, which was then placed in a chamber filled with buffer solution. An electric current separated the DNA fragments by size as they migrated through the gel at different rates. The gel was then stained to reveal three bands - two marker bands and the unknown sample band. By comparing the unknown sample's migration distance to the markers of known lengths, the unknown was determined to be approximately 2.6 kilobase pairs in length.
Gel electrophoresis is a technique that uses an electrical current to separate DNA fragments by size. Our group performed gel electrophoresis by placing DNA markers and an unknown sample into an agarose gel tray, which was then placed in a chamber filled with buffer solution. An electric current separated the DNA fragments by size as they migrated through the gel at different rates. The gel was then stained to reveal three bands - two marker bands and the unknown sample band. By comparing the unknown sample's migration distance to the markers of known lengths, the unknown was determined to be approximately 2.6 kilobase pairs in length.
Gel electrophoresis is a technique that uses an electrical current to separate DNA fragments by size. Our group performed gel electrophoresis by placing DNA markers and an unknown sample into an agarose gel tray, which was then placed in a chamber filled with buffer solution. An electric current separated the DNA fragments by size as they migrated through the gel at different rates. The gel was then stained to reveal three bands - two marker bands and the unknown sample band. By comparing the unknown sample's migration distance to the markers of known lengths, the unknown was determined to be approximately 2.6 kilobase pairs in length.
Gel Electrophoresis is a technique used to separate and identify
specific compounds in a mixture using an electrical field. In this procedure,
the technique will be used to separate fragments of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). The negatively charged DNA molecule is pulled through the gel matrix toward the positive pole. The purpose of this procedure is to separate DNA strands for further analysis. Our group received an agarose gel tray. We placed with a pipette two dyes, 2 DNA markers, and an unknown DNA sample into the tray. This was placed on the platform of the electrophoresis chamber. The casting chamber was placed near the black electrode. Then approximately 2.5 liters of buffer solution was added to the chamber. The lid was placed on the machine and it was turned on. The buffer solution showed signed of bubbling. When it was determined that the electrophoresis separation had occurred the power was turned off. The tray was removed from the chamber. The agarose gel was then stained in methylene blue to make the separated fragments visible. This made three bands visible, blue, orange, and purple. The separation of these three dyes shows that the lighter the molecule, the farther it will travel through the agarose gel. The electrophoretic migration of the known, standard DNA fragment is compared with an unknown fragment to identify the length of the unknown fragment. This is done by measuring the distance from the middle of the starting well to the leading edge of each band. Each of our known DNA fragments has a known length and is expressed in kilobase pair (KBP) value. The distance migrated in expressed in millimeters. Our gel electrophoresis findings are; DNA marker one migrated 1.1 millimeters. DNA marker two migrated 1.3 millimeters. DNA marker three migrated 1.5 millimeters. DNA Marker four migrated 1.9 millimeters. DNA marker five migrated 2.6 millimeters. DNA maker six migrated 2.7 millimeters. The unknown DNA marker migrated 2.6 millimeters. Therefore rendering our unknown to have a result of 2.6 KBP. DNA Marker Fragment Number 1 2 3 4 5
DNA Marker Fragment Length (KBP) 23.13 9.41 6.68 4.36 2.32
DNA Marker Fragment Distance Migrated (mm) 1.1 1.3 1.5 1.9 2.6
6 Unknown
2.03 2.5
2.7 2.6
These results have been plotted on a semi-log graph. The graph is
located on the following page. Gel Electrophoresis is a process which enables the sorting of molecules based on size. Using an electric field, DNA molecules can be made to move through a gel made of agar or polyacrylamide. The electric field consists of a negative charge at one end which pushes the molecules through the gel, and a positive charge at the other end that pulls the molecules through the gel. The molecules being sorted are dispensed into a well in the gel material. The gel is placed in an electrophoresis chamber, which is then connected to a power source. When the electric current is applied, the larger molecules move more slowly through the gel while the smaller molecules move faster. The different sized molecules form distinct bands on the gel. The standard DNA fragments are identifiable and known markers. This is then compared to the unknown DNA to determine the length in KBP. Gel Electrophoresis is used to separate fragments of DNA, RNA, and proteins for further analysis. Our unknown DNA fragment migrated 2.5 millimeters and the fragments length was 2.6 KBP.