DNA and Gel Electrophoresis Flashcards
What is DNA made of?
Nucleotides
What are Nucleotides made of?
Phosphate, sugar, base
What are the 4 different types of bases?
Nitrogenous Bases
Just letters
A, T, G, C
A pairs with T and G pairs with C
A+T, G+C
A
Adenosine
T
Thymine
G
Guanine
C
Cytosine
What are the “rails” of the DNA ladder made up of?
The sides of a DNA ladder, not the actual steps
Sugar-Phosphate (backbones)
What is the shape of DNA?
When in its natural twisted form
Double-Helix
Allele
Alternative forms of a gene
At a specific location, loci, on the chromosome
What does PCR stand for?
polymerase chain reaction
What is the purpose of
PCR
Amplifies (copies) DNA prior to gel electrophoresis
This is because there is typically not enough DNA in a sample, so they have to duplicate it
What is the purpose of
Gel Electrophoresis
The DNA separates based on size, forming a DNA fingerprint that can be compared
Why are there different sizes of DNA?
fragments of DNA
Enzymes cut specific parts of the DNA which digests it into fragments of different sizes
What is the relative speed of
PCR
Can produce millions of copies of DNA in a couple of hours
From one double strand, it can continously copy the DNA exponentially
What is a
DNA fingerprint
a unique banding pattern based of a person’s DNA. The more closely related the samples, the more similar the DNA banding patterns
What is a
Ladder
A DNA ladder found in a gel
It is a DNA sample with fragments of known lengths, and it is used for reference, as it can be compared to the other DNA bands in the gel
What does this mean
Bubbles
in the liquid buffer of a gel
It is proof that an electrical current is running
What are
Wells
Wells are where samples are loaded
Which side does DNA migrate from/to?
In the gel during electrophoresis
The DNA is negatively charged, so it migrates towards the positive end during electrophoresis
What are
Restriction Enzymes
cut DNA at specific sequences- results in different sized DNA fragments that create a unique banding pattern
The more closely related the people, the (———–) the DNA
(or species)
More Similar
What can this process be used for?
Gel Electrophoresis
Crime scene
Paternity
species relatedness
This process produces…
Gel Electrophoresis
produces a banding pattern that can be compared
the banding pattern is made up of DNA fragments
