Question

What is PCR used to diagnose?

Answer 1

Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR):

1. It is a procedure used in laboratories for the amplification of specific samples of DNAs thus producing billions of DNA copies.
2. Process of PCR is mainly based on the enzymatic replication of DNA samples using the enzyme DNA polymerase.
3. A primer is a single-stranded fragment of a DNA molecule.
4. Steps involved in the process of polymerase chain reaction are:

• Denaturation: For the separation of double-stranded DNA, they are heated which is termed denaturation.
• Annealing: In this process, at the flanking regions of targeted DNA, primers are added.
• Extension: Extension of the primer with the use of DNA polymerase takes place at the 3' end of each primer present along the template strand.

Use of PCR:

1. Polymerase chain reaction is used to make multiple copies of nucleic acids.
2. This method is implied to easily diagnose even very minute quantities of viral or bacterial DNA present in the sample.
3. It can also be used for DNA fingerprinting to find the identity of the individual of which DNA sample is obtained.