Polymerase Chain Reaction - Agarose Gel Electrophoresis, Variants of PCR, History of Polymerase Chain Reaction (Paperback)

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Pages: 36. Chapters: Agarose gel electrophoresis, Variants of PCR, History of polymerase chain reaction, Real-time polymerase chain reaction, COLD-PCR, Primer dimer, Multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification, Applications of PCR, Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, Digital polymerase chain reaction, Selection and amplification binding assay, TaqMan, DNA extraction, Overlap extension polymerase chain reaction, Touchdown polymerase chain reaction, Multiplex polymerase chain reaction, Inverse polymerase chain reaction, MassTag-PCR, Nested polymerase chain reaction, Hot start PCR, Bacterial fruit blotch, Random hexamer. Excerpt: The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a scientific technique in molecular biology to amplify a single or a few copies of a piece of DNA across several orders of magnitude, generating thousands to millions of copies of a particular DNA sequence. Developed in 1983 by Kary Mullis, PCR is now a common and often indispensable technique used in medical and biological research labs for a variety of applications. These include DNA cloning for sequencing, DNA-based phylogeny, or functional analysis of genes; the diagnosis of hereditary diseases; the identification of genetic fingerprints (used in forensic sciences and paternity testing); and the detection and diagnosis of infectious diseases. In 1993, Mullis was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry along with Michael Smith for his work on PCR. The method relies on thermal cycling, consisting of cycles of repeated heating and cooling of the reaction for DNA melting and enzymatic replication of the DNA. Primers (short DNA fragments) containing sequences complementary to the target region along with a DNA polymerase (after which the method is named) are key components to enable selective and repeated amplification. As PCR progresses, the DNA generated is it...