Maurice Godfrey, Ph.D.
University of Nebraska Medical Center
Omaha, NE 68198-5430
Email: mgodfrey@unmc.edu
Basics of DNA, Genes, Chromosomes
Language of DNA
Alphabet – A C T G
Words – All three letter words
Vocabulary – About 20 Amino Acids
Prose –
Interesting Facts About the Human Genome

If your DNA were lined up end to end, it would go to the moon and back 260 times

There are about 3 x 109 nucleotide base pairs in the human genome (the complete set of genes in one
cell). If you took all of the DNA from a single human cell and laid the strands end to end, it would be
about 2 meters long!

All of that DNA is folded and packed into the nucleus of a human cell. The diameter of the nucleus is
about 0.005 mm or 1/500 the width of a dime.

There are 6 billion bits of information coded by DNA in each of our nucleated cells (a bit is a measure of
information). Each human cell contains twenty-one times the information that is found in the
Encyclopedia Britannica, which is thought to have about 280 million letters.
What are Mutations?
Original Message
SAM AND TOM ATE THE HAM
Missense Mutation - Causes amino acid substitution
Premature Stop Codon - Prevents part of the protein from being made
Frameshift Mutation - Message starts in the wrong place
mRNA Splicing Mutation - Portion of the message is left out, leading to a shortened protein
Gene Duplication
Heritable Disorders of Connective Tissue
Mutations in the Extracellular Matrix “Our Birthday Suit
How to Extract DNA from Anything Living
Adapted from work by the Genetic Science Learning Center: http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/units/activities/extraction/
1) First, you will need the source of your DNA. Every living thing has DNA - bacteria, yeast, insects, plants
and animals. We all have it. Today we will use a common food you may eat all the time.
2) You will work in pairs or groups of three. On your table you will find a sandwich bag with a piece of fruit or
vegetables inside. Start mashing! Make sure you completely mash it up. Lots of these protocols use a
blender. Today, you are the blender.
3) Add the liquid that is in one of the purple topped tubes in your “DNA Extraction Kit” (aka the large Ziploc
bag on your table). This is your extraction buffer. It has water, Palmolive dish soap and salt. There is one part
soap to nine parts water.
4) While one partner continues to mash the fruit/vegetable with the extraction buffer the other partner can start
preparing to filter. Put one of the coffee filters in the plastic cup and try to fold the edges of the filter over the
cup so that the filter doesn’t fall into the cup. You should use the rubber band in your kit to secure the filter.
5) Pour the mashed fruit/vegetable with the liquid and salt into the filter.
6) While it’s filtering through, we will spend some time talking about what is happening and what we’ve done
so far. If your sample doesn’t filter well you might want to think of some ways to get it to flow better. We will
talk about this too.
7) When we are ready, take the filter off the cup and throw it into the large empty baggie on your table. When
instructed, pour the filtrate (the liquid that came through the coffee filter) into the cold 70% isopropanol that we
will hand you. POUR SLOWLY. There should be about 20ml of the alcohol in the tube.
8) The alcohol should form a layer on top. At the interface between the water and alcohol layer you will see
the DNA come out of the solution and float to the top.
9) Slowly and carefully rotate the wooden stick in the fruit extract. Wind the DNA around the wooden stick like
thread on a spool. Remove the DNA from the tube and observe the DNA.
10) Place some DNA in your microcentrifuge tube. Add several drops of alcohol to the tube. The DNA will
continue to remain as a precipitate and will be stable for many years
in the tube. Close the lid tightly to avoid evaporation.
Questions:
1) Where in the cell is the DNA found?
2) What was the detergent for?
3) Why did we add alcohol?
4) If we extracted DNA from peas, bananas or a chicken liver, what would the final DNA look like?
How would it compare to the DNA from the strawberry that you collected today?
Native Americans in Genetics
Clifton Poodry, Ph.D.
Dr. Poodry is a biologist turned scientific administrator with research expertise in
developmental genetics. He had a 22-year research and teaching career in cell
biology and developmental genetics in Drosophila at the University of California, Santa
Cruz, prior to joining NIGMS. At NIGMS, Poodry serves as director of the Division of
Minority Opportunities in Research, where he oversees the administration of grants
designed to increase the number and capabilities of minority biomedical scientists.
These grants support a variety of activities, including research training, infrastructure
improvement, curriculum enrichment, and laboratory research at minority institutions.
Cited from http://www.nigms.nih.gov/About/Poodry.htm
Joan Esnayra, Ph.D.
Joan Esnayra, Ph.D. is President and founder of the Psychiatric Service Dog Society.
As the recipient of the 2006 Eli Lilly ‘Welcome Back Award’ in Primary Care, Dr.
Esnayra has spent the past nine years pioneering the ‘Psychiatric Service Dog’
therapeutic model. Building upon her analytical training as a scientist, and her insights
as a mental health consumer, Dr. Esnayra and members of her online community
identified over 30 tasks or functions that Psychiatric Service Dogs may be trained to
provide to their owners who are disabled by refractory symptoms of severe mental
illness. Dr. Esnayra trained in classical genetics and received her doctorate from
University of California, San Diego.
Cited from: http://www.psychdog.org/index.html