How does the DNA in the cell lysate become visible?

Answer 1

Hello there!

When a cell is lysed, all the contents of the cell are released outside, including the genomic DNA from the nucleus.

This purely depends on the number of cells you have lysed and how large the genome is. If you have a lysed lot of cells, you can somewhat see the DNA with a stringy appearance. Hoping that you did not let anything from the cytoplasm or from your gloves destroy it, you can use chilled ethanol to forcefully precipitate it. In that way, you will get to see it turn into a dense, white, stringy mass on the top of the solution.

Although, if you have to extract DNA, you will need to use professional ab kits meant for this process, for example, QIAGEN and New England Biolabs make such kits which are meant for experimental lab use and they come with specific instructions on how to use it.

I know it is a bit lengthy but I hope this answered your question 😄

Answer 2

DNA in cell lysate can be made visible through various techniques such as agarose gel electrophoresis or polymerase chain reaction (PCR). In agarose gel electrophoresis, DNA is separated based on size and can be visualized using a DNA stain under UV light. In PCR, specific DNA fragments are amplified and visualized using gel electrophoresis.