Genetics and Molecular Biology - Lab Report Example

Laboratory Report al Affiliation) The issue of food contamination is a common incidence in the current global business environment. In most cases, food producers are usually held accountable for such issues; however, they tend to defend themselves regarding such accusations thus creating the need to perform a laboratory test basically geared towards identification of existence of foreign materials in such food products. This discussion will be focused towards explicating the results of a laboratory experiment to determine the contamination of food products with other external contaminants. Specifically, the report shall describe the extraction of DNA mitochondrion from meat products that were recently exhibited by scandals owing to a public claim that they had been contaminated with horse meat. The report shall also entail performing a PCR (Polymer Chain Reaction) experiment geared towards identifying the specific components of the meet products in the samples provided. The PCR experiment will specifically entail identifying whether or not the claims made in regard to the foreign materials contained in these food products are true. This shall be performed using agarose gel. The introductory section of the report shall entail description of the objectives and aim of this experiment, followed by a discussion that shall be supported by literature from secondary sources as well as recommendations. Key Words: Polymer Chain Reaction, DNA Mitochondrion, Contaminants, Agarose Gel, Laboratory. Introduction The issue of contaminated food products has been a major subject of discussion not only in the United Kingdom but also in other parts of the world. Such claims are usually raised by consumers towards the food suppliers; this may paint a negative picture towards the food suppliers or even producers. As such the application of scientific methods to provide proof to clients that the food products supplied are of high quality is usually considered a pertinent strategy in order to redeem consumers ‘faith towards their products. In the year 2013, various food supply companies in the United Kingdom were involved in scandals involving contamination of beef products with horse meat (Lawley, 2013). In this regard, various meet products from different food supply in the United Kingdom were exposed to investigation to determine whether or not the meet products contained certain percentages of horse meet. To begin with, Findus, a major beef product supplier was exposed towards the test. On the other hand, Tesco, the Co-Operatives as well as the Aldi, companies that suppler meat burgers prepared by Rangeland, were also subjected to the tests in order to verify the quality of their burger products (Lawley, 2013). Several meat processing plants were also raided by quality assurance supervisors, these Companies were inclusive of Farm Box Meat Company, Peter Boddy Slaughterhouse, among others. Some beef product supply companies made assertions that they would not work with Companies that have been identified to offer meet products of poor quality, specifically those that have been contaminated with foreign meat materials, specifically horse meat and those that contained undeclared pork products (New Service Update, 2013). The aim of this experiment is to determine the level of contamination of meat products with certain undeclared meat material i.e. horse meat and pork. This shall be undertaken through a laboratory experiment that applies the Polymerase Chain Reactions: This is a laboratory procedure that entails the application of simple and less expensive scientific procedures that specifically involve focusing a certain segment of identified DNA and copying it several times. It is usually applied when one intends identify the existence of viruses and bacteria in food staffs and other materials. This scientific method can also be used to identify criminals by matching their DNA’s with the DNA samples identified at the scenes of crime. The PCR experiment is performed by use of primers; in this case, they will be short pieces of DNAs from the nine samples provided. Methods Purification of the Laboratory for PCR test The process began by purification of the laboratory with an intention to eliminate all contaminants that could interfere with the quality of the procedure and analysis hence jeopardizing the quality of the results. The surfaces were cleaned by use of distilled water; the disposable deinonizers were used to purify the buffer water that was used in this experiment. This was followed by dilution of the components using Fast Green Dye. This is summarized in the table below: Volume Fast Green (µl) Volume of Distilled Water (µl) Total Volume (µl) Mass Fast Green Dilution (µg) 0 1000 1000 0 2 998 1000 1 5 998 1000 2.5 10 990 1000 5 20 998 1000 10 DNA Extraction All the nine meat samples were obtained from various sources within the United Kingdom Meat Market. There were also two samples that were unknown. DNA was extracted from the nine samples as well as the two samples through a process that involved: Extraction of DNA in equal volumes of phenol. DNA concentration was then recorded in regard to the absorbance at a wavelength of 620 nm. The Polymer Chain Reaction The process began by amplification of the DNA samples at an approximate volume of 1000µm volume of distilled water, followed by a process of electrophoresis of the DNA samples through agarose gel. The common forward primers were the oligonucleotides, emerging from the nine DNA samples amplified. The process of electrophoresis and the results are indicated in the photo below: A photo of the electrophoresis of the DNA’s from the nine meat samples through agarose gel. Results The photo indicated above provides the picture of the various prime regions that were identified during the Polymer Chain Reaction process through agarose gel. The common forward primers from the nine samples indicate SIM mismatch. PCR products from the nine DNA samples were basically single DNA fragments at different bp measurements. Moreover, the level of absorbance among the nine samples was also unique in each sample and this is summarized in the table below: Mass Fast Green (µg) Sample A absorbance (620nm) Sample B absorbance (620nm) Mean Sample Absorbance (620nm) 0 0 0 0 1 0.194 0.122 0.150 2.5 0.432 0.420 0.426 5 0.886 0.869 0.879 10 1.905 1.926 1.976 Discussion The aim of the laboratory experiment was directed towards identification of the specific DNA’s of the meat samples collected from commercial centers within the United Kingdom. The application of PCR as a method of DNA analysis through electrophoresis was pertinent due to its efficacy. The design entailing the identification of primers is an important aspect in Polymer Chain Reaction. The results of the study indicated a great sense of variation between the primers of the Nine DNA samples. Moreover, the level of percentage mis-matching among the primers of the DNA samples also varied to a great extent. In addition, the DNA primers from the nine meat samples also exhibited differences in regard to their lengths. Conclusion The experiment provided results indicating that there was indeed external material that existed in the beef products that have been supplied among the populace of the United Kingdom. The external DNA identified during the process of separating the cows DNA exhibited a a difference in relation to measurement of the lengths of the primers, two of the meat samples were also from unknown sources; however, their DNA primers were also unique and different from other indicating that indeed some of the know meat products in the United Kingdom could contains external meat materials that are unknown. Recommendation The application of the Polymerase Chain Reaction as a laboratory analysis is quite an effective method in the process of identifying specific genetical composition of meat products. It has facilitated the process of quality analysis majorly geared towards improving consumer products through provision of declared food materials as indicated in the labels. It is also a quick and relatively simple method that has been greatly applied in the contemporary scientific analysis field. However, it is relatively expensive as compared to other experimental procedures that have been applied over time. The essence of high costs associated with performing this laboratory procedure have made it difficult for many countries to determine the quality of their food products hence propagating the jeopardy of their food products, this is mostly evident in developing and as well as countries with poor scientific development or technological advancement. Therefore, this has created the need to come up with proper, more efficient and less expensive modes of food analysis through identification of DNA samples. When performing the Polymerase Chain Reaction experiments, it is important that great sense cleanliness is maintained and observed throughout the experiment. This is imperative owing to the fact that it promotes the reducing the chances of contaminating the DNA samples with foreign materials. Other issues that should be taken into consideration are associated with the laboratory procedures i.e. application of the appropriate temperature in order to avoid denaturing of the DNA, a factor that may affect their natural densities hence providing unusual results. In addition, it is important that governments and other concerned stakeholders provide allocate resources in order to provide opportunities for research and innovation that would ensure that other technologies are developed to facilitate efficiency. Bibliography Matsunaga, Chikuni, Tanabe, Muroya, Shibata, Yamada and Shinmura.1999. A quick and simple method for the identification of meat species and meat products by PCR assay. Meat Science. 51. Pp143-148. Arnheim, Norman. Polymerase chain reaction. San Diego: Academic Press, 1991. Print. "Commons Select Committees." UK Parliament. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Mar. 2014. . "Horse meat investigation." Food Standards Agency. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Mar. 2014. . Mullis, Kary B., François Ferré, and Richard Gibbs . 2012. The Polymerase chain reaction. Boston: Birkhäuser,. Print. "PCR Lab Protocol." Scribd. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Mar. 2014. . Arnheim, N.1992. Polymerase Chain Reaction Strategy. Annual Review of Biochemistry, 61(1), 131-156. Horse Meat Update.2013, February 14. States News Service , pp. 12-13. Lawley, R.2013, November 1. The Horsemeat Scandal Adds Yet More Fuel to Food Price Inflation. Food Engineering & Ingredients , 3, 4-6. Sundfors, C., & Collan, Y. 1996. Basics of quantitative polymerase chain reaction: 2. Electrophoresis and quantitation of polymerase chain reaction products. Electrophoresis, 17(1), 44-48. Read More