Extraction, Sequencing, and Analysis of Mitochondrial DNA

 

Tested Studies in Laboratory Teaching, 2008, Volume 29

Robert J. Kosinski & Brad Robinson

Abstract

In this laboratory, students extract mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from eyelash hair follicles. The instructor then uses polymerase chain reaction to amplify a 440 bp segment of the control region. After the students perform electrophoresis to verify that the segment has amplified successfully, the samples are sent to the Dolan DNA Learning Center for free sequencing. The sequence results are posted on a Dolan Web site. Students use ClustalW to determine if their mtDNA sequence is most similar to those of their own ethnic group. Finally, students analyze literature data on mtDNA in different human ethnic groups.

Keywords:  mitochondrial DNA, bioinformatics, clustalW, human evolution, mtDNA

University of Kentucky (2007)