Question: Does it injure the animals when you do a DNA test, and how do you take DNA?

Asked by smath68 to Blaire, Elizabeth, Jenny, Shona, Simon on 12 Mar 2013. This question was also asked by dmath56.

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  1. Photo: Simon AllenSimon Allen
    answered on 12 Mar 2013:

    Depends,
    For a genetic test you only need a small sample so if the animal is big, just take a little bit. No pain.
    For bacteria and microbes. You basically take a whole sample of a microbial ecosystem and put it in a blender, then multiply up the bits you are interested in before analysing.

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  2. Photo: Jennifer L. A. ShawJennifer L. A. Shaw
    answered on 12 Mar 2013:

    Yes so as simon said. If its a large animal like a fish you can just take a skin sample, a fin clipping or a blood sample which doesnt hurt the animal at all. Unfortunately though for the microscopic animals and bacteria that I study they do die. I take a water sample in a sterile bottle and filter the water with filter paper that doesn’t let any animal or bacterial cells get through, I then resuspend the cells in a bit of sterile water and extract the DNA of the animals within the water by lysing the cells which simply means ‘breaking open’ the cells. Then I sequence the DNA that’s there by first amplifying the DNA on a machine called a PCR machine which makes lots and lots of copies of the DNA and then put the DNA on a sequencing machine. The machine then gives you the genetic code of the DNA. Each animals genetic code is different so you know whats there based on the genetic codes you get
    If I were sequencing the DNA of a larger animal then I would extract the DNA directly from the skin or blood sample.

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  3. Photo: Shona MarksShona Marks
    answered on 12 Mar 2013:

    I don’t collect DNA, I’ve seen other scientist do it. They don’t take much. In humans we just use a swob and rub it on the inside of our mouth.
    Simon and Jennifer have more experince with this then me.

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  4. Photo: Blaire DobieckiBlaire Dobiecki
    answered on 12 Mar 2013:

    I never had to collect DNA either, so these answers are very interesting to me too 🙂

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Comments

  1. Photo: byeat16byeat16
    commented on 12 Mar 2013:

    Is bacteria biotic or abiotic?

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    • Photo: ShonaShona
      commented on 12 Mar 2013:

      Biotic is the living parts of an ecosystem, so the animals and plants fungi and bacteria.
      Abiotic are the chemical and physical parts to an ecosystem, so the temperature of the water, the oxygen in the water, and pH, things like this

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  2. Photo: wdowe2wdowe2
    commented on 13 Mar 2013:

    And if you don’t know what sequencing DNA is, look at my question in the ‘Related Questions’ box at the top right of the page. Jenny answered it for me.

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