A mixture of fragmented DNA was electrophoresed in an agarose gel. After staining the gel with ethidium bromide, no DNA bands were observed. What could be the reason?
Following are the possible reasons for the non-observation of DNA bands:
(a) DNA may have got contaminated because of accidental additional of nuclease enzyme.
(b) Electrodes may have been put in wrong orientation with anode towards the loading well. As DNA is negatively charged, it moves towards the anode. When the anode is near the loading well, separated DNA may move out of the gel.
(c) Quantity of ethidium bromide may not have been sufficient.