|
Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) Technique
Developed in 1984 and 1985 by Kary B. Mullis, Randall
K. Saiki, Stephen J. Scharf, Fred A. Faloona, Glenn
Horn, Henry A. Erlich, and Norman Arnheim, the PCR
technique is an in vitro method that greatly
amplifies (makes millions of copies of) DNA sequences
that otherwise could not be detected or studied. It
can be utilized to amplify a given DNA sequence that
constitutes less than one part per million of initial
sample (e.g., a 100-base-pair target DNA sequence
within the genome of one of the higher organisms,
which can contain up to 500 million base pairs). The
procedure alleviates the necessity of in vivo
replication of a target DNA sequence, or of
replication of one-of-a-kind tiny DNA samples (e.g.,
from a crime scene).
IN VITRO, IN VIVO, POLYMERASE CHAIN
REACTION (PCR), AMPLICON, NESTED PCR, DEOXYRIBONUCLEIC ACID (DNA), BASE PAIR (bp), GENOME, SEQUENCE (OF A DNA MOLECULE), TAQ, DNA POLYMERASE, PRIMER (DNA) |
