Question

What is the requirement of each PCR assay?

Answer 1

PCR Assay:

1. Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) is one technique that serves the purpose of early diagnosis of diseases.
2. Very low concentration of a bacteria or virus (at a time when the symptoms of the disease are not yet visible) can be detected by amplification of their nucleic acid by PCR.
3. PCR is now commonly used to detect HIV in patients with suspected AIDS.
4. Each PCR assay requires the presence of template DNA, nucleotides, primers, and DNA polymerase.
5. DNA polymerase is the important enzyme that binds individual nucleotides together to form a PCR product.
6. Nucleotides are composed of four bases found in DNA - adenine, cytosine, thymine, and guanine (A, C, T, and G).
7. These bases serve as the basis for the building blocks that must be used by DNA polymerase to generate the PCR product.