DNA concentration gel electrophoresis?

Question

I performing an experiment in which i am altering the DNA concentration of several mixtures then running them through gel electrophoresis. The problem is that I do not have a question to answer by doing this. I do not know what analyze by running this gel therefore I have no hypothesis that i can come up with. I am in a science fair and I do not have alot of time left. Any help is appreciated.

Answer 1

I don't know if this is a good answer but you said any help is appreciated. I'll just give you a brief summation of what gel electrophoresis is used for.  In gel electrophoresis you can use this electric field to separate proteins or DNA based on the size and charge of the molecule. The process works because when molecules are are placed in an electric field the charges on the molecule are attracted to the opposite charged electrode. With DNA electrophoresis you are only separating the molecules by size because the charge on each DNA molecule is the same.  To separate the molecules by size the gel ( usually agarose) functions as a matrix (or obstruction) that allows small molecules to pass through quickly and large molecules to pass through slowly. So pretty much large DNA fragments pass through slowly and small ones pass through quickly.

Now for an experiment you can use the different DNA segments and try and differentiate the DNA sequences based on a specific trait. It really depends on how much time you have. If I were you I would look up restriction enzymes and how they help identify traits.

By the way if you alter the DNA concentration you increase or decrease the number of base pairs. Now if you fragment the DNA you are not altering the concentration of DNA because the number of base pairs is the same. I know I'm being a smart *ss but it best to be as knowledgeable as you can for the science fair.

Good Luck.

Answer 2

The only reason to alter DNA concentrations would be to produce different banding after staining.  You could quantitatively measure the different level of banding between DNA concentrations.  This is actually decent information to gather as this problem does arise in laboratory work.  I dont know what you have access to, or are trained in using, but if you stain the gel you should see a variation in brightness of banding.  If you have experience and a safe lab, you can use ethidium bromide (extremely dangerous) and a UV light.  A more safe option is the use of metheylene blue.  Be careful with both though.

Answer 3

Well yeah there should always be a purpose for running a scientific experiment, always a question to be answered.

but regarding what you're cooking,

By running different concentrations of DNA on a gel you will see that less concentrated samples won't be as bright as ones with more concentrated samples.

If you were able to compare these samples to bands of known concentration, you could generate a standard curve or use a sample of known concentration to estimate the amount of DNA in your samples.  Note that if you wish to make such comparisons, you need to use bands that are roughly the same size as the band you want to estimate.

Answer 4

1. Promise me you will never attempt to go into any field of science or engineering.  

2. Read this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_...

I hope this will be a learning experience for you.