Name: Date:

Student Exploration: DNA Profiling

Directions: Follow the instructions to go through the simulation. Respond to the questions and
prompts in the orange boxes.

Vocabulary: DNA polymerase, DNA profiling, gel electrophoresis, gene, mutation, non-coding region,
polymerase chain reaction, primer, short tandem repeat

Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo.)

In 1985, Darryl Hunt was convicted of murder. While Hunt was in jail, a new method for analyzing DNA
evidence was invented. The DNA evidence on the victim did not match Hunt’s DNA but did match that of
another prisoner. After 19 years spent behind bars, Hunt was finally declared innocent and released from
prison in 2004.

1. DNA is used to tell people apart. What aspects of how many different DNA a person has
DNA do you think to make this possible?

2. What are some possible uses for technology that can eye color and hair color
identify people based on their DNA?

Gizmo Warm-up

DNA profiling does not just compare people’s entire genome side by side.
Instead, a very particular part of the DNA is compared. In the DNA Profiling
Gizmo, you will learn about the differences in DNA that make DNA profiling
possible and you will use that knowledge to design your DNA profiling test.

Click on the crime lab in the Forensic training section. You are looking at a
strand of DNA. DNA contains genes and non-coding regions between genes. Click on Non-coding A.

1. You are looking at a portion of the non-coding A yes some of them repeat themselves and some
section for three different people. Are these sections do not
the same or different? Explain

2. Click Previous then click on Gene A. Are there no

differences in gene A for the three people?

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 Activity A: Get the Gizmo ready:
Forensic training ● Click on Forensic training and Start again.

Introduction: In this activity, you will learn about the principles and techniques that make DNA profiling
possible. Genes code for specific traits. In people, the DNA sequences for most genes are nearly identical,
since any change could result in a harmful disorder. The areas between genes do not code for any essential
traits, so a change to the DNA sequence doesn’t have any major consequences. As a result, these regions
tend to be very different for different people.

Question: How can the differences in DNA be exploited to perform DNA profiling?

1. Observe: Click on non-coding A. What do you see in the middle of each of the three DNA sequences?

they all have A on top and T on the bottom

2. Compare: Turn on Show short tandem repeats (STRs). An STR is a short, repeated sequence of DNA,
like TAAA. They can be repeated any number of times without affecting the traits of the person. Different
people usually have different numbers of repeats.

What does this do to the length of each person’s non-coding regions?

the longer the DNA the more short tandem and the smaller the DNA the less the short
tandem

3. Create: Your goal is to make copies of the STR region. To do this, you will make primers that surround the
STR region. A primer is a short sequence of DNA that acts as a starting point for DNA replication.

Click Next. Click on person 1’s DNA to separate the two strands. Drag along the AAGGC nucleotides, and
then the TCGCC nucleotides to create primers. Click Next. The Gizmo will add the same primers to the two
other people.

What do you notice about where the primers attach to each person?

they all start and end the same

4. Observe Click Next. An enzyme called DNA polymerase uses the primers as a starting point to copy the
DNA. Copying DNA using primers is a technique called Polymerase chain reaction (PCR).

Click Next again. The DNA segments are copied millions of times.

What do you notice about the lengths of the copied DNA strands?

it stays the same but gets copied a million times

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5. Compare: Click Next. Gel electrophoresis is used to separate DNA strands of different lengths. An
electric current is passed through the gel. As the current moves from top to bottom, it pulls the DNA and
loading dye along with it. Click on the power box to turn it on.

A. Which person’s DNA band traveled the farthest? 2nd person

Shortest? 1st person

B. Turn on Show labels. What do you notice about the length of the longer the distance the
the DNA versus the distance it traveled down the gel? shorter it traveled

C. Can you identify people by comparing the length of STR regions on a gel? Explain

yes if their DNA move farther down the gel they have a short gel and if it’s long the shorter it
moves down the gel

6. Observe Click Next. Then select Gene A.

A. Does gene A have any STRs? no

Because genes are segments of DNA that hold the instructions for producing proteins, they
usually don’t have large variable regions like STRs.

B. Are there any differences in gene A between the individuals? no

Genes may contain small mutations that don’t affect the length of the segment.

C. Create primers and copy the DNA. What do you notice about it was short, only one primer
the length of the duplicated regions? were made for each strand

D. Click Next and turn on the gel electrophoresis apparatus. they were the farthest
What do you notice about the position of the band?

E. Can you identify people by comparing the length of genes on a gel? Explain

the less the primers the person has the feather the DNA is on the gel electrophoresis

7. Summarize: How can PCR and gel electrophoresis be used to identify people?

it can identify people because of how long and short their DNA is

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 Activity B:
Get the Gizmo ready:
Design and test
● Select Design primers on the left.
primers

Introduction: To identify people based on DNA, copies of certain segments of DNA are compared using gel
electrophoresis. In this activity, you will design primers that will copy segments of DNA that will help to identify
people.

Question: How can you use your knowledge to create a DNA profiling test?

1. Predict: Gel electrophoresis distinguishes DNA segments by length. To identify people by DNA, is it better
to make copies of genes or non-coding segments? Explain.

it is better to make them both for a better answer

2. Create: Pick a section of DNA you want to copy and follow the directions to create primers.

A. Click Preview primer. Did the DNA copy properly? yes

B. Do you get segments of DNA that are different lengths for yes
each person?

Click Save primer when you are satisfied. Create more primers using other parts of the
chromosome. Be sure each primer set copies DNA segments that vary in length.

3. Test: Switch to the Test primers section. DNA was isolated from the skin and blood of four different people.
Select the primers you created (now in the saved primers section) then click Run the analysis to run the
PCR and gel electrophoresis tests on the samples. You will notice that each primer creates two bands on
the gelwas because each person has two copies of each chromosome.

Based on the test, match the skin and blood samples. (You can click and drag on the gel columns to
rearrange them.) Use the Gizmo to check your answers.

Which blood sample goes with each skin sample?

Skin 1: b Skin 2: a Skin 3: d Skin 4: c

4. Experiment: Switch back to the Design primers section. Click Clear primers. Add primers to the bottom
left and top right of the DNA and click Preview primers. What happens?

many different strands were made using the primers

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DNA polymerase only copies DNA in one direction. In the Gizmo, the top strand of DNA copies left-to-right
and the bottom strand copies right-to-left.

Reproduction for educational use only. Public sharing or posting prohibited. © 2020 ExploreLearning™ All rights reserved