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DNA Fingerprint: Alu Lab
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This online activity features molecular genotyping using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to provide data to study population genetics and human evolution. In this activity, which supplements a hands-on lab at the Dolan DNA Learning Center's Harlem DNA Lab, students learn how to collect their own DNA, use PCR to amplify a region of DNA from chromosome 16, and analyze the amplified DNA with gel electrophoresis. Chromosome 16 might contain an Alu insertion—considered “junk” or “selfish” DNA because it encodes no protein and appears to exist only to replicate itself. Students gain information about human population genetics as they learn to score their own genotypes and calculate genotype and allele frequencies. They use the DNALC's Allele Server tool to find patterns in the frequency of the insertion allele in world populations and learn how these patterns relate to competing theories of human evolution. The online materials, which include video interviews with scientists, provide background information and explain how Alu elements are inherited and how Alu insertions can be used to track human ancestry. An animation shows the PCR process, and a step-by-step guide explains how DNA is copied in a PCR reaction. A Teacher Manual and other texts on the site explain that Alu is a “jumping gene”—a transposable DNA sequence that “reproduces” by copying and inserting itself into new chromosome locations. The DNA Fingerprint activity is one of six experiments available at the Lab Center's Internet site. The experiments cover key genetics and biotechnology concepts taught in middle school and high school science classes.
DNA Fingerprint Activity
This interactive online activity, which features molecular genotyping using polymerase chain reaction (PCR), helps students understand human evolution.
Media: Flash MultimediaProgram Director: David Micklos
Award Years: 1990, 1994, 1999, 2007
Summary: Cold Spring Harbor is a private, non-profit research and education institution in Cold Spring Harbor, New York. Its HHMI-funded initiatives include:
- An integrated laboratory and computer system that allows students to examine their own DNA polymorphisms, share data via the Internet and reconstruct human evolution;
- A large-scale program, Genetics as a Model for Whole Learning, that brings hands-on genetics into middle school classrooms, involving more than 10,000 students per year from 22 school districts and five private schools in metropolitan New York; and
- A professional development program, a close collaboration between the Dolan DNA Learning Center and the New York City Department of Education, which enables teachers to deliver hands-on, inquiry-based experiments in genetics and biotechnology to eighth- and ninth-graders. An online Lab Center—a mini-website including animations, interviews, class results, follow-up activities and projects—supports the program.