Applications of PCR

About: Applications of PCR is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 829 publications have been published within this topic receiving 109186 citations.

Primer-directed enzymatic amplification of DNA with a thermostable DNA polymerase

Abstract: A thermostable DNA polymerase was used in an in vitro DNA amplification procedure, the polymerase chain reaction. The enzyme, isolated from Thermus aquaticus, greatly simplifies the procedure and, by enabling the amplification reaction to be performed at higher temperatures, significantly improves the specificity, yield, sensitivity, and length of products that can be amplified. Single-copy genomic sequences were amplified by a factor of more than 10 million with very high specificity, and DNA segments up to 2000 base pairs were readily amplified. In addition, the method was used to amplify and detect a target DNA molecule present only once in a sample of 10(5) cells.

Enzymatic amplification of beta-globin genomic sequences and restriction site analysis for diagnosis of sickle cell anemia.

Abstract: Two new methods were used to establish a rapid and highly sensitive prenatal diagnostic test for sickle cell anemia. The first involves the primer-mediated enzymatic amplification of specific beta-globin target sequences in genomic DNA, resulting in the exponential increase (220,000 times) of target DNA copies. In the second technique, the presence of the beta A and beta S alleles is determined by restriction endonuclease digestion of an end-labeled oligonucleotide probe hybridized in solution to the amplified beta-globin sequences. The beta-globin genotype can be determined in less than 1 day on samples containing significantly less than 1 microgram of genomic DNA.

Genetic Applications of an Inverse Polymerase Chain Reaction

Abstract: A method is presented for the rapid in vitro amplification of DNA sequences that flank a region of known sequence. The method uses the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), but it has the primers oriented in the reverse direction of the usual orientation. The template for the reverse primers is a restriction fragment that has been ligated upon itself to form a circle. This procedure of inverse PCR (IPCR) has many applications in molecular genetics, for example, the amplification and identification of sequences flanking transposable elements. In this paper we show the feasibility of IPCR by amplifying the sequences that flank an IS1 element in the genome of a natural isolate of Escherichia coli.

DNA Detection Using Recombination Proteins

Abstract: DNA amplification is essential to most nucleic acid testing strategies, but established techniques require sophisticated equipment or complex experimental procedures, and their uptake outside specialised laboratories has been limited. Our novel approach, recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA), couples isothermal recombinase-driven primer targeting of template material with strand-displacement DNA synthesis. It achieves exponential amplification with no need for pretreatment of sample DNA. Reactions are sensitive, specific, and rapid and operate at constant low temperature. We have also developed a probe-based detection system. Key aspects of the combined RPA amplification/detection process are illustrated by a test for the pathogen methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. The technology proves to be sensitive to fewer than ten copies of genomic DNA. Furthermore, products can be detected in a simple sandwich assay, thereby establishing an instrument-free DNA testing system. This unique combination of properties is a significant advance in the development of portable and widely accessible nucleic acid-based tests.