[laura.g.berger]

Hello, guys. I saw this video about DNA extraction and i would like to ask you three questions.
I don't know if i can put this link, if not, i'm sorry.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOpu4iN5Bh4


1- It is real DNA? I mean, he preserves his helicoidal structure after all those reactions?

2- Considering that each cell of the strawberry has his own DNA. When the experience is finished what i see are million and millions of DNA isolated, or they bond each other by his extremities? This would explain his gooey consistency. I'm asking this because i don't understand his gooey consistency. The only thing that make sense to me is, if DNA does not make these chemical bonds with others DNA, is like if i tried catch water with my hands. Water would run through my fingers because each molecule of H2O is no linked with other. If DNA is not linked with others he would run through my fingers because his consistency would be similar to water.

3- In the video, the girl says that DNA is dirty and if i want to study it, I should clean it before. How can i clean it up considering i have no access to a laboratory?

[Arkcon]

I didn't watch the video, but I've done DNA extractions in school myself so ...

1 -- Yes, very likely.  The helical structure is preserved, its really part of the secondary structure of the molecule.  Research a bit more into why the helical structure happens and you can see why this is so.

2 -- Since it is visible to the naked eye, its not a single molecular strand, but instead millions stacked on top of each other.  Possible with some other chemical impurities.  But the gooey white strands do indicate DNA molecules stacked on top of each other.  It tends to associate with itself and water in this way, because oif its chemical properties.  Which you can read about.

3-- Well ... how will you get it without a laboratory?  And what will you study about it without a laboratory?  Kinda a moot point, isn't it?  However, if you repeat the steps, using this as an input source, to remove yet more cellular components.

FWIW, I reviewed the comments on the movie on Youtube, and many people are asking questions like yours -- can you prove this is DNA, and only DNA, with a light microscope or something?  And no, you can't.

[laura.g.berger]

Considering that each cell of the strawberry has his own DNA. When the experience is finished what i see are million and millions of DNA isolated, or they bond each other by his extremities? This would explain his gooey consistency. I'm asking this because i don't understand his gooey consistency. The only thing that make sense to me is, if DNA does not make these chemical bonds with others DNA, is like if i tried catch water with my hands. Water would run through my fingers because each molecule of H2O is no linked with other. If DNA is not linked with others he would run through my fingers because his consistency would be similar to water.

Thank you for your answer. I'm just curious and i know, i ask odd questions, but i don't like to go to the bed with these questions in my head.
Is possible i make these units of DNA bind to each other making a single huge molecule like a polymer, where i consider one unit of DNA a monomer of this polymer?
If yes, what chemical reaction i could do to do this?

[Babcock_Hall]

DNA is a long polymer, and I would expect a solution of a polymer to be viscous (gooey)

[laura.g.berger]

DNA is a long polymer, and I would expect a solution of a polymer to be viscous (gooey)

But he is smaller than a cell!  Or when he is "free"  of his cell he gets relaxed and gets bigger?

[Babcock_Hall]

All of the polymers with which I am familiar have the property of increasing viscosity at high enough concentrations.  The question of size is a subtle one.  When DNA is in a cell or is otherwise packaged, it is packed tightly.  When the cell is ruptured, some of that tight packing is lost.  There is a nice image of bacterial DNA in some biochemistry textbooks, which illustrates this.  The image at the link below (which involves viral DNA) may convey some of the same idea:  http://schaechter.asmblog.org/schaechter/2011/09/phage-dna-going-with-the-flow.html

[laura.g.berger]

Ok, guys.
I was embarrassed to ask this earlier, but i'll ask anyway, even if it is nonsense. When i watched the video i thought the as follows.
After the DNA is out of the cell, where it was packaged, it is in a relaxed state, it causes it to rise from size, he gets bigger. This way they are equal to a bunch of spaghetti where each unit of DNA is a strand of spaghetti with, perhaps, some inches in length, depending on the unit. That, to me, explains its sticky consistency. In other words, they do not run through your fingers or other instrument when you try to catch them. This analogy is correct?

Thank you for your patience with me.

[JasonHerbalExt]

1. It's not DNA. But it may contain little.

2. The gooey condition in the video is because the final product may contain many protein, pectin and other content from strawberry. It's not DNA looks like. Pure DNA looks like white powder.

3. The girl said it's dirty perhaps because she knew it has many impurities. In the lab, we use 75% cold alcohol to clean DNA deposit.