Lambda DNA Amplification by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)
Introduction/ Background*
Since its introduction in 1985, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has become a powerful tool in molecular genetic analysis. Today, it is used for applications such as cloning, analysis of DNA from ancient specimens, and analysis of human DNA for forensic applications. PCR is a test-tube DNA replication system for making many, many copies of, or amplifying, a defined segment of DNA. Using PCR, a selected target DNA can be amplified several million-fold in just a few hours. Within a dividing cell, DNA replication involves a series of enzyme-mediated reactions, whose end result is a faithful copy of the entire genome. Within a test tube, PCR uses just one indispensable enzyme-DNA polymerase-to amplify a specific segment of the genome.
During cellular DNA replication, enzymes first unwind and separate, or denature, the DNA double helix into single strands. Then, the enzyme RNA polymerase synthesizes......
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