EDVOTEK® Resources for HOSA Biotechnology Event
Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)
In the early 1980’s, Kary Mullis developed a technique that replicated DNA in vitro using short, synthetic DNA oligonucleotides designed to target a specific se - quence (known as primers) and DNA Polymerase I. In a process similar to replication in a cell’s nucleus, the primers would bind to the DNA, directing polymerase to copy the gene sequence. However, after the initial elongation, the sample was heated to denature the newly-formed DNA duplex, then cooled to allow prim- er binding and extension to happen again. Each time
the sample cycled through the different temperatures, the amount of DNA doubled. By repeating this cycle of heating and cooling many times, billions of copies of a specific DNA sequence were produced in a matter of minutes. This simple cycle – anneal, extend, denature – is the basis of the polymerase chain reaction . Be- cause of its ease of use and its ability to rapidly amplify DNA, PCR has become indispensable in the medical and life sciences lab.
PCR EXPERIMENTS:
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