Mitochondria. Thanks Mom!

      Mitochondria are organelles in eukaryotic cells that extract energy in the form of ATP from oxygen and nutrients that the cell provides. Each mitochondria in the cytoplasm has several copies of its own genome and contains only 37 genes. This is very different then the actual DNA of the cell that has many many more genes in it. Scientists think that mitochondria started as bacteria that were engulfed by eukaryotic cells and provided a means to get energy for the cell. This relationship evolved over time and the bacteria became part of the cell as mitochondria. This theory is further supported by the fact that the mitochondrial genome is very similar to bacteria's genome in the fact that they are both circular plasmids.

      In humans the mitochondrial DNA that we receive comes only from our mother. This occurs because the egg cell has many organelles including mitochondria while the sperm cell is basically a fast moving DNA carrier that sacrifices its organelles in order to be faster and reach the egg cell. So when fertilization occurs the mitochondria from the egg cell is what the baby gets. This fact that mitochondrial DNA only comes from the mother can be helpful because it allows us to test the mt genome and create family trees by tracing the mt DNA back through the mothers side of the family. Mitochondria also have many copies of a given gene in its DNA which can be helpful when doing forensic work or dealing with very old or damaged cells where DNA is badly degraded.
    
      Our results turned out the way we expected because everyone got a line in their row. Possible sources of error could have been mistakes in pipetting or a contamination with DNA in the air or from somewhere else that was accidentally introduced to the mix for PCR.

results:

Disease Gene. Do you have it?

      DNA is the blueprint for our body and decides many things including what genetic diseases we might have or what diseases we might be more at risk for. Individual genes in a person have 2 alleles per gene. The alleles can either be long (+) or short (-) alleles. Different combinations of alleles can imply different things. In this lab we are testing our DNA to simulate what a lab might do to test someones DNA for disease.

       In order to test the DNA we must first collect samples of the DNA. To collect the samples of the DNA you must extract it from the nucleus and kill the DNAse that is lurking in the cell. In order to break the membrane of the nucleus and cell you must place the cell in water that is around 95 degrees Celsius. After doing this you must kill the DNAse lurking within by introducing instagene matrix.

       Next we must make many copies of the gene of interest in order to test it. We can do this by using Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). There are many steps to PCR. First you must denature the DNA (break it into 2 single strands). Then you must add the primers that will anneal (base pair) and then synthesize new strands of DNA to the ends of the gene that you want to copy. Then you repeat the first two steps allowing the DNA to denaturize then allowing the primers to anneal again.Then you keep repeating and eventually you will end up with many copies of the gene you want.

        After all these we will put the different gene samples through gel electrophoresis. This will allow us to determine what alleles the gene has. There are three different types of allele combinations and all will look different. +/+ (largest) will be higher, +/- (mid sized) will have one high one low, and -/- (smallest) will be the lowest. By comparing the results we can tell what alleles the gene has.

Example Gel:

       Our results turned out like we expected them to. Overall we got pretty clear lines across the gel. Three people in our group came up as heterozygous (carriers) of the disease, while one person in our group came up as homozygous recessive (diseased)

Actual gel: