Human DNA Fingerprinting by Polymerase Chain Reaction

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Author:

Mark Bloom

Subject:

Science and Technology

Institution Name:

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

Collection:

Association for Biology Laboratory Education (ABLE)

Grade Level:

Post-secondary

Abstract:

This experiment uses polymerase chain reaction to demonstrate the polymorphic nature of human DNA. Students obtain samples of their own DNA using a simple mouthwash procedure. PCR is used to amplify a noncoding region of chromosome 1 that contains a repeated DNA sequence. The number of times the sequence repeats can vary from person to person, resulting in a polymorphism. Following amplification, student samples are electrophoresed, stained, and photographed. Each student will see one or two bands in their gel lane, indicating whether they are homozygous or heterozygous for that region of chromosome 1. This experiment is adapted from Advanced DNA Science: An Introduction to Methods of Genome Analysis by Mark V. Bloom, Greg A. Freyer, and David A. Micklos (copyright 1993 Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and Carolina Biological Supply Company); polymerase chain reaction is covered by patents owned by Hoffman La Roche.

Course Type:

Learning Module

Languages:

English

Material Type:

Activities and Labs, Lesson Plans

Media Format:

Downloadable docs

Conditions of Use:

Custom Permissions
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner. Use solely at one's own institution with no intent for profit is excluded from the preceding copyright restriction, unless otherwise noted on the copyright notice of the individual chapter in this volume. Proper credit to this publication must be included in your laboratory outline for each use; a sample citation is given [on the copyright page of each volume]. Upon obtaining permission or with the "sole use at one's own institution" exclusion, ABLE strongly encourages individuals to use the exercises in this proceedings volume in their teaching program.