Question

Polymerase chain reaction is most useful in which of the following process?

• A. DNA synthesis
• B. DNA amplification
• C. Protein synthesis
• D. Amino acid synthesis

Answer 1

The correct option is B

DNA amplification

The correct option is B

Explanation for Correct answer:

1. The polymerase chain reaction is a biochemical technology.
2. It is used to amplify or multiply a single copy of DNA with excellent accuracy and speed.
3. Taq polymerase enzyme polymerizes the new DNA strand utilizing single-stranded DNA as a template and DNA oligonucleotides during this process.
4. DNA amplification, a form of nucleic acid amplification, is the intentional increase in the number of copies of a specific DNA fragment into millions of copies by replication of the segment into which it has been cloned.
5. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a typical method for rapidly making millions to billions of copies (complete or partial) of a given DNA sample, allowing scientists to take a little amount of DNA and amplify it (or a portion of it) to a large enough quantity to analyse in-depth.

Explanation for incorrect answer:

Option A:

1. DNA synthesis is a natural process that occurs in all organisms and is referred to as replication.
2. The synthesis technique is also important in genetics and genomics research.
3. However, the in vitro or artificial DNA creation process is distinct.

Option C:

1. Many processes used in genetic testing and research, such as the study of ancient DNA samples and the identification of infectious organisms, rely on PCR.
2. In a series of temperature adjustments, copies of extremely tiny quantities of DNA sequences are exponentially amplified using PCR.

Option D:

1. Amino acids are obtained through the breakdown of proteins in processes such as food digestion.
2. One significant distinction between amino acid biosynthesis and that of other compounds, such as carbohydrates or lipids, is that amino acid synthesis integrates nitrogen into the process.

Final answer:

Polymerase chain reaction is most useful in DNA amplification.