Page 6 - An Identity Crisis

SAFETY PRECAUTIONS PIPETTING PRACTICE
1. Molten agarose can scald and must be handled Inexperienced students should practice pipetting
with care. before performing this lab. One suggestion is to use
2. Serious or lethal electrical shock can result if the a small piece of waxed paper and practice picking
gel apparatus is used improperly. up and delivering small volumes of colored water.
Students should hold the pipettor as vertical as
3. Remove caps from bottles placed in the micro-
wave to avoid explosion and serious injury. possible. Without precise pipetting, experimental
results may not be accurate.
4. BlueVis buffer and gel stain will stain skin and
clothing; wear gloves while handling.
5. Review MSDS’s found on the Mystery of Lyle and
Louise website, http://www.LyleAndLouise.com,
on the product page for this module.

NOTES FOR THE GEL

 This kit includes enough samples for 3 groups to analyze known suspects and victims (Gel A)
and an additional 3 groups to analyze the unknowns and evidence (Gel B). DNA labels are color-
coded to keep them separate in the lab; DNA that should be run on Gel A will have blue caps,
while the DNA tubes for Gel B have red caps. Tubes of ladder DNA, which must be run on both
gels, have a white cap.

 The BlueVis Gel Stain is the same solution as the 20x BlueVis TBE running buffer, but is bottled
separately to prevent confusion. If more stain is needed, the remaining 20X BlueVis Buffer may
be used.

 Gels thicker than 1 cm will have poor contrast; use less than the 80 mL of agarose provided if
you have small gel boxes. Note: BlueVis will not stain DNA if it has overheated. Do not remelt
agarose after adding BlueVis.

6 THE MYSTERY OF LYLE AND LOUISE