DNA Bracelets
Welcome to Marine DNA Bracelets, an activity brought to you by the Ocean Genome Legacy Center and Northeastern University's Marine Science Center!
We're excited for you to learn about the structure of genes and DNA. In this activity, you will use colored beads and string to make a bracelet representing a real gene from your favorite marine organism!
Introduction
What is DNA?
DNA, or Deoxyribonucleic Acid, is the molecule that contains instructions that code for proteins, which carry out many functions in our cells. DNA is made of two connected strands that twist around each other and form a double helix. These strands are made of a sugar-phosphate backbone and a base. There are four types of bases: adenine (A), thymine (T), cytosine (C), and guanine (G). The backbone and base together form a nucleotide, which are the building blocks of DNA. The sequence, or order, of these nucleotides on a strand of DNA is important. Every sequence that can code for a protein is a gene.
Image credit: Genome Research Limited
Building DNA
The base pairings
The four bases that make up DNA are adenine (A), thymine (T), cytosine (C), and guanine (G). Each base only pairs with one of the other DNA bases: adenine pairs with thymine and cytosine pairs with guanine. The complementary, or opposite, strand is created based off the primary strand and these predetermined pairings. The paired strands twist together, forming a double helix.
Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Putting it together
The backbone and four bases, which combined are called nucleotides, are the building blocks of DNA. Nucleotides pair with their complementary bases and the two strands form DNA in the shape of a double helix. These twist around into different shapes and structures, and eventually make up the chromosomes in nucleus of each of your cells. A section of DNA that codes for a protein is called a gene. Together, all of your genes makes you, you!
Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Let's make a gene!
Materials needed:
2 pieces of string, elastic, or pipecleaners per student
4 colors of pony beads (we use red, green, blue, and orange)
Each student will need a maximum of 20 beads of each color (likely less - there are 40 beads per bracelet), so approx. 500 beads of each color for a class of 25Instructions (linked below)
DNA sequences (provided below)
DNA_Brac_Instructions.pdfDNA_Brac_BigCards.pdfInstructions
Choose your DNA sequence!
Steps
Watch a step by step how-to
OGL Bracelet.mp4Learn more about your organism!
Red rock crab
Pacific blood star
Spotted seahorse
Horseshoe crab
The Big Picture
The sequence on your DNA bracelet is just one piece of a huge puzzle of marine DNA. The ocean makes up 99% of the habitable portion of Earth and is incredibly biologically diverse. OGL's mission is to catalogue and protect the wealth of DNA stored in the ocean. Your DNA bracelet is one species out of over 3,800 contained in OGL's collection. Check out some of OGL's videos below to learn more!
Narrative | Ocean Genome Legacy || Cataloguing the Oceans
Learn how OGL catalogues DNA and shares the wealth of information with researchers around the world.
Ocean Genome Legacy || Meet OGL's Research Assistant Ella
Meet a research assistant at OGL working on an experiment to improve DNA preservation methods.