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Restriction Analysis Lab
In this online activity—which illustrates that genes can be precisely manipulated—students learn how to use restriction enzymes to cut DNA and analyze the resulting DNA fragments by agarose gel electrophoresis. This exercise, a supplement to a hands-on lab at the Dolan DNA Learning Center’s Harlem DNA Lab, shows students how to cut samples of DNA from bacteriophage Lambda with two different restriction enzymes, EcoRI and HindIII, each of which recognizes and cuts at a different DNA sequence. A third DNA sample is the undigested control, while a fourth sample is cut with an unknown enzyme. By comparing the band pattern from DNA cut with the unknown enzyme to patterns obtained with EcoRI and HindIII, students can determine the identity of the unknown enzyme. The background information describes how a Swiss biochemist provided the first evidence of a “molecular scissors” that could cut DNA by showing that E. coli bacteria have an enzymatic immune system that recognizes and destroys foreign DNA and modifies native DNA to prevent self-destruction. Modules on cutting and pasting DNA and on agarose gel electrophoresis provide basic information on these techniques. An animation on the site shows how a restriction enzyme moves along a DNA molecule and breaks the sugar-phosphate bonds. A “further exploration” section suggests additional classroom activities. The Restriction Analysis Lab is one of six experiments found at the Lab Center’s Internet site. The experiments cover key genetics and biotechnology concepts taught in middle school and high school science classes.
Program 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.