nih-gov/www.nlm.nih.gov/ncbi/workshops/2023-09_Primer-BLAST/PCR.html
2025-02-26 13:17:41 -05:00

379 lines
23 KiB
HTML
Raw Blame History

This file contains ambiguous Unicode characters

This file contains Unicode characters that might be confused with other characters. If you think that this is intentional, you can safely ignore this warning. Use the Escape button to reveal them.

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1, shrink-to-fit=no">
<meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge" />
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" />
<meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge,chrome=1"/>
<link rel="preconnect" href="https://fonts.googleapis.com">
<link rel="preconnect" href="https://fonts.gstatic.com" crossorigin>
<link href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Roboto:wght@100;300;400;500;700&display=swap" rel="stylesheet">
<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://use.fontawesome.com/releases/v5.0.10/css/all.css" integrity="sha384-+d0P83n9kaQMCwj8F4RJB66tzIwOKmrdb46+porD/OvrJ+37WqIM7UoBtwHO6Nlg" crossorigin="anonymous">
<link rel="schema.DC" href="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" title="The Dublin Core metadata Element Set" />
<script src="https://assets.nlm.nih.gov/uswds/js/uswds-init.min.js"></script>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="/home_assets/uswds/css/styles.css">
<link rel="stylesheet" href="/home_assets/uswds/css/uswds_accordion_nav.css">
<link rel="stylesheet" href="/home_assets/css/mwm_sidebar.css">
<title>The Polymerase Chain Reaction</title>
<link rel="schema.DC" href="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" title="The Dublin Core metadata Element Set" />
<meta name="DC.Title" content="The Polymerase Chain Reaction" />
<meta name="DC.Publisher" content="U.S. National Library of Medicine" />
<meta name="DC.Date.Issued" content="2022-10-11" />
<meta name="DC.Date.Modified" content="2023-09-22" />
<meta name="NLMDC.Date.LastReviewed" content="2023-09-22" />
<meta name="NLM.Contact.Email" content="workshops@ncbi.nlm.nih.gov" />
<meta name="DC.Type" content="Training Material and Manuals" />
<meta name="DC.Rights" content="Public Domain" />
<meta name="DC.Language" content="eng" />
<!-- Google Tag Manager --><script>(function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push(
{'gtm.start': new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'}
);var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='//www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-MT6MLL');</script>
<!-- End Google Tag Manager -->
</head>
<body>
<!-- Google Tag Manager -->
<noscript><iframe src="//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-MT6MLL" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden" title="googletagmanager"></iframe></noscript>
<!-- End Google Tag Manager -->
<!-- TOP NAV -->
<a class="usa-skipnav" href="#main">Skip to main content</a>
<div class="usa-banner site-banner" aria-label="Official government website">
<div class="usa-accordion">
<header class="usa-banner__header">
<div class="usa-banner__inner">
<div class="grid-col-auto"> <img class="usa-banner__header-flag" src="https://assets.nlm.nih.gov/uswds/img/us_flag_small.png" alt="U.S. flag"/> </div>
<div class="grid-col-fill tablet:grid-col-auto">
<p class="usa-banner__header-text"> An official website of the United States government </p>
<p class="usa-banner__header-action" aria-hidden="true"> Heres how you know </p>
</div>
<button class="usa-accordion__button usa-banner__button" aria-expanded="false" aria-controls="gov-banner"> <span class="usa-banner__button-text">Heres how you know</span> </button>
</div>
</header>
<div class="usa-banner__content usa-accordion__content" id="gov-banner">
<div class="grid-row grid-gap-lg">
<div class="usa-banner__guidance tablet:grid-col-6"> <img class="usa-banner__icon usa-media-block__img" src="https://assets.nlm.nih.gov/uswds/img/icon-dot-gov.svg" role="img" alt="" aria-hidden="true"/>
<div class="usa-media-block__body">
<p> <strong> Official websites use .gov </strong> <br />
A <strong>.gov</strong> website belongs to an official government
organization in the United States. </p>
</div>
</div>
<div class="usa-banner__guidance tablet:grid-col-6"> <img class="usa-banner__icon usa-media-block__img" src="https://assets.nlm.nih.gov/uswds/img/icon-https.svg" role="img" alt="" aria-hidden="true"/>
<div class="usa-media-block__body">
<p> <strong> Secure .gov websites use HTTPS </strong> <br />
A <strong>lock</strong> ( <span class="icon-lock">
<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="52" height="64" viewBox="0 0 52 64" class="usa-banner__lock-image" role="img" aria-labelledby="banner-lock-title-default banner-lock-description-default" focusable="false">
<title id="banner-lock-title-default">Lock</title>
<desc id="banner-lock-description-default">A locked padlock</desc>
<path fill="#000000" fill-rule="evenodd" d="M26 0c10.493 0 19 8.507 19 19v9h3a4 4 0 0 1 4 4v28a4 4 0 0 1-4 4H4a4 4 0 0 1-4-4V32a4 4 0 0 1 4-4h3v-9C7 8.507 15.507 0 26 0zm0 8c-5.979 0-10.843 4.77-10.996 10.712L15 19v9h22v-9c0-6.075-4.925-11-11-11z"/>
</svg>
</span> ) or <strong>https://</strong> means youve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. </p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- HEADER -->
<header id="siteheader" class="usa-header usa-header--basic">
<div class="usa-nav-container tablet:padding-x-4 mobile-lg:padding-x-2 padding-y-1">
<div class="grid-row padding-y-105">
<div class="grid-col-8 desktop:grid-col-4 tablet-lg:grid-col-4 tablet:grid-col-6"> <a href="https://www.nlm.nih.gov/"> <img src="https://assets.nlm.nih.gov/uswds/img/NLM_White.png" alt="NLM logo" class="logo margin-top-1"> </a> </div>
<div class="desktop:grid-col-4 desktop:grid-offset-4 tablet-lg:grid-col-6 tablet-lg:grid-offset-2 tablet:grid-col-6 grid-col-12">
<form class="usa-search desktop:margin-top-2 tablet:margin-top-2 mobile:margin-top-1" role="search" data-gtm-form-interact-id="0" method="get" action="//vsearch.nlm.nih.gov/vivisimo/cgi-bin/query-meta" target="_self" name="searchForm" id="searchForm2">
<input class="usa-input ui-autocomplete-input" aria-label="Search" type="search" name="query" data-gtm-form-interact-field-id="0" id="search2" placeholder="Search NLM" autocomplete="off">
<input type="hidden" name="v:project" value="nlm-main-website">
<button class="usa-button border border-top border-bottom border-right border-white" role="button" aria-label="Search" type="submit"> <span class="usa-search__submit-text"> <i class="fas fa-search"></i> </span> </button>
</form>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</header>
<div class="bg-secondary insertCOOP">
<div class="usa-nav-container">
<div class="usa-navbar ">
<button class="usa-menu-btn">Menu</button>
</div>
<nav aria-label="Primary navigation" class="usa-nav">
<button class="usa-nav__close"><img src="https://assets.nlm.nih.gov/uswds/img/close.svg" alt="close"></button>
<ul class="usa-nav__primary usa-accordion insertNav">
<li class="usa-nav__primary-item desktop-lg:margin-x-5 desktop:margin-x-3 tablet:margin-x-0">
<button type="button" class="usa-accordion__button usa-nav__link usa-current" aria-expanded="false" aria-controls="basic-nav-section-one"> <span>Products and Services <i class="fas fa-caret-down margin-left-05"></i> </span> </button>
<ul id="basic-nav-section-one" class="usa-nav__submenu bg-secondary" hidden="">
<li class="usa-nav__submenu-item"> <a href="//eresources.nlm.nih.gov/nlm_eresources/"><span>All Products and Services</span></a> </li>
<li class="usa-nav__submenu-item"> <a href="//clinicaltrials.gov/"><span>ClinicalTrials.gov</span></a> </li>
<li class="usa-nav__submenu-item"> <a href="//collections.nlm.nih.gov/"><span>Digital Collections</span></a> </li>
<li class="usa-nav__submenu-item"> <a href="//catalog.nlm.nih.gov"><span>LocatorPlus Catalog</span></a> </li>
<li class="usa-nav__submenu-item"> <a href="//meshb.nlm.nih.gov/search"><span>Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)</span></a> </li>
<li class="usa-nav__submenu-item"> <a href="//medlineplus.gov/"><span>MedlinePlus</span></a> </li>
<li class="usa-nav__submenu-item"> <a href="//pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/"><span>PubMed/MEDLINE</span></a> </li>
<li class="usa-nav__submenu-item"> <a href="//uts.nlm.nih.gov/uts/"><span>Unified Medical Language System (UMLS)</span></a> </li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="usa-nav__primary-item desktop-lg:margin-x-5 desktop:margin-x-3 tablet:margin-x-0">
<button type="button" class="usa-accordion__button usa-nav__link usa-current" aria-expanded="false" aria-controls="basic-nav-section-two"> <span> Resources for You <i class="fas fa-caret-down margin-left-05"></i></span> </button>
<ul id="basic-nav-section-two" class="usa-nav__submenu bg-secondary" hidden="">
<li class="usa-nav__submenu-item"> <a href="/portals/researchers.html"><span>For Researchers</span></a> </li>
<li class="usa-nav__submenu-item"> <a href="/portals/publishers.html "><span>For Publishers</span></a> </li>
<li class="usa-nav__submenu-item"> <a href="/portals/librarians.html"><span>For Librarians</span></a> </li>
<li class="usa-nav__submenu-item"> <a href="/training.html "><span>For Educators/Trainers </span></a> </li>
<li class="usa-nav__submenu-item"> <a href="/portals/healthcare.html"><span>For Health care Professionals</span></a> </li>
<li class="usa-nav__submenu-item"> <a href="/portals/public.html "><span>For the Public</span></a> </li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="usa-nav__primary-item desktop-lg:margin-x-5 desktop:margin-x-3 tablet:margin-x-0">
<button type="button" class="usa-accordion__button usa-nav__link usa-current" aria-expanded="false" aria-controls="basic-nav-section-three"> <span>Explore NLM <i class="fas fa-caret-down margin-left-05"></i> </span> </button>
<ul id="basic-nav-section-three" class="usa-nav__submenu bg-secondary" hidden="">
<li class="usa-nav__submenu-item"> <a href="/about/index.html"><span>About the Library</span></a> </li>
<li class="usa-nav__submenu-item"> <a href="/about/visitor.html"><span>Visit the Library</span></a> </li>
<li class="usa-nav__submenu-item"> <a href="/hmd/index.html"><span>History of Medicine</span></a> </li>
<li class="usa-nav__submenu-item"> <a href="/about/org.html"><span>NLM by Organization</span></a> </li>
<li class="usa-nav__submenu-item"> <a href="/news/newsandevents.html"><span>News, Events, and Updates</span></a> </li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="usa-nav__primary-item desktop-lg:margin-x-5 desktop:margin-x-3 tablet:margin-x-0">
<button type="button" class="usa-accordion__button usa-nav__link usa-current" aria-expanded="false" aria-controls="basic-nav-section-four"> <span> Grants and Research <i class="fas fa-caret-down margin-left-05"></i> </span> </button>
<ul id="basic-nav-section-four" class="usa-nav__submenu bg-secondary" hidden="">
<li class="usa-nav__submenu-item"> <a href="/ep/index.html"><span>NLM Extramural Programs</span></a> </li>
<li class="usa-nav__submenu-item"> <a href="/research/index.html"><span>NLM Intramural Research Program</span></a> </li>
<li class="usa-nav__submenu-item"> <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/"><span>National Center for Biotechnology Information</span></a> </li>
<li class="usa-nav__submenu-item"> <a href="//lhncbc.nlm.nih.gov/"><span>Lister Hill National Center for Biomedical Communications</span></a> </li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</nav>
</div>
</div>
<!-- End of TOP NAV -->
<!-- Breadcrumbs -->
<div class="grid-container">
<nav class="usa-breadcrumb usa-breadcrumb--wrap padding-top-1" aria-label="Breadcrumbs">
<ol class="usa-breadcrumb__list">
<li class="usa-breadcrumb__list-item"> <a href="/" class="usa-breadcrumb__link"><span>Home</span></a> </li>
</ol>
</nav>
</div>
<!-- End Breadcrumbs -->
<main class="padding-bottom-5" id="main">
<div class="grid-container">
<div class="grid-row grid-gap">
<div class="tablet:grid-col-3">
<section class="nav-wrap">
<!-- start accordion nav block -->
<nav class="acnav" role="navigation">
<!-- start level 1 -->
<ul class="acnav__list acnav__list--level1 padding-left-0" style="list-style-type:none">
<li><a class="notactive" href="/ncbi/workshops/2023-09_Primer-BLAST/workshop-details.html"> Workshop Details </a></li><li><a class="notactive" href="/ncbi/workshops/2023-09_Primer-BLAST/workshop-video.html"> Workshop Video </a></li><li class="has-children is-open"><div class="acnav__label"> <i class="arrow up"></i><a class="active" href="/ncbi/workshops/2023-09_Primer-BLAST/PCR.html"> The Polymerase Chain Reaction </a></div><ul class="acnav__list acnav__list--level2" style="list-style-type: none; display: block;"><li class="li nav-item"><a class="notactive nav-link link10314" href="/ncbi/workshops/2023-09_Primer-BLAST/PCR.html#PCR">Advent of PCR</a></li><li class="li nav-item"><a class="notactive nav-link link10325" href="/ncbi/workshops/2023-09_Primer-BLAST/PCR.html#Primers">Designing Primers</a></li></ul></li><li><a class="notactive" href="/ncbi/workshops/2023-09_Primer-BLAST/PB_description.html"> What is Primer-BLAST? </a></li><li><a class="notactive" href="/ncbi/workshops/2023-09_Primer-BLAST/PB_access.html"> Accessing Primer-BLAST </a></li><li class="has-children"><div class="acnav__label"> <i class="arrow down"></i><a class="notactive" href="/ncbi/workshops/2023-09_Primer-BLAST/interface.html"> The Interface </a></div><ul class="acnav__list acnav__list--level2" style="list-style-type: none; display: none;"><li class="li nav-item"><a class="notactive nav-link link10639" href="/ncbi/workshops/2023-09_Primer-BLAST/interface.html#Template">Input Sequences</a></li><li class="li nav-item"><a class="notactive nav-link link106410" href="/ncbi/workshops/2023-09_Primer-BLAST/interface.html#Exon">Exon/Intron Selection</a></li><li class="li nav-item"><a class="notactive nav-link link106511" href="/ncbi/workshops/2023-09_Primer-BLAST/interface.html#Specificity">Specificity Check</a></li><li class="li nav-item"><a class="notactive nav-link link106612" href="/ncbi/workshops/2023-09_Primer-BLAST/interface.html#Advanced">Advanced Parameters</a></li></ul></li><li class="has-children"><div class="acnav__label"> <i class="arrow down"></i><a class="notactive" href="/ncbi/workshops/2023-09_Primer-BLAST/results.html"> Results Page </a></div><ul class="acnav__list acnav__list--level2" style="list-style-type: none; display: none;"><li class="li nav-item"><a class="notactive nav-link link107714" href="/ncbi/workshops/2023-09_Primer-BLAST/results.html#Results">Results</a></li><li class="li nav-item"><a class="notactive nav-link link107815" href="/ncbi/workshops/2023-09_Primer-BLAST/results.html#Recent">Recent Results</a></li></ul></li><li class="has-children"><div class="acnav__label"> <i class="arrow down"></i><a class="notactive" href="/ncbi/workshops/2023-09_Primer-BLAST/examples.html"> Practice Examples </a></div><ul class="acnav__list acnav__list--level2" style="list-style-type: none; display: none;"><li class="li nav-item"><a class="notactive nav-link link108917" href="/ncbi/workshops/2023-09_Primer-BLAST/examples.html#Ex1">Example 1: MPO mRNA</a></li><li class="li nav-item"><a class="notactive nav-link link1081018" href="/ncbi/workshops/2023-09_Primer-BLAST/examples.html#Ex2">Example 2: MPO Exon</a></li><li class="li nav-item"><a class="notactive nav-link link1081119" href="/ncbi/workshops/2023-09_Primer-BLAST/examples.html#Ex3">Example 3: Whale myoglobins</a></li></ul></li><li><a class="notactive" href="/ncbi/workshops/2023-09_Primer-BLAST/job_ids.html"> Today's Job IDs </a></li>
</ul>
<!-- end level 1 -->
</nav>
<!-- end accordion nav block -->
</section>
</div>
<div class="tablet:grid-col-9">
<div class="grid-row">
<div class="desktop:grid-col-8 tablet:grid-col-12">
<h1>The Polymerase Chain Reaction</h1>
</div>
</div>
<h2><a id="PCR"></a>The Advent of PCR</h2>
<p>In the mid-1980's Kary Mullis and others devised a method to rapidly amplify a targeted region of DNA into milliions of copies. The method used <em>E. coli </em>polymerase-mediated extension of DNA oligonucletides (primers) that were complementary to regions flanking the target<em>. </em>They named the method the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Mullis received the 1993 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for inventing the technique.&nbsp;<br /><em><br /></em>Standard PCR involves 1) denaturing a double-stranded target DNA at high temperature, 2) lowering the temperature to allow the primers to bind (anneal), and 3) raising the temperature and extending the primers using a thermostable polymerase. Repeated cycles result in an exponential growth of the number of copies of the target DNA.&nbsp;</p>
<p>It's remarkable that the first experiments used a manual process involving water baths and a polymerase that was unstable at high temperatures. The advent of thermostable polymerases from thermophilic bacteria and archaea combined with computer-controlled thermocycling machines have made PCR a standard laboratory technique that is used in a wide range of molecular biology procedures including measuring gene expression, amplifying targets for sequencing and cloning, and assaying sequence variation.</p>
&nbsp;<br />
<h3 style="padding-left: 40px;">PCR cycle: denaturation, annealing, extension</h3>
<img src="/ncbi/workshops/2022-10_Primer-BLAST/Images/PCR.JPG" alt="Graphic depicting the cycles of the polymerase chain reaction" width="900" /><br /><br />
<h3 style="padding-left: 40px;">Details of primer binding and extension</h3>
<p><img src="/ncbi/workshops/2022-10_Primer-BLAST/Images/Primer_Binding_Extension.jpg" alt="Image of details of primer binding and extension in PCR" width="900" /><br /><br /></p>
<h2><a id="Primers"></a>Designing primers for PCR</h2>
<p>An important aspect of PCR technique is identifying appropriate primers that:</p>
<ol>
<li>Match the target sequence in the correct locations</li>
<li>Have compatible thermodynamic properties with the template such as denaturation (melting) temperature (Tm)</li>
<li>Don't have stable secondary structures, self-complementarity, or other competing binding problems</li>
<li>Will not amplify unintended products from the DNA sample</li>
</ol>
<p>The first three items above are addressed by most primer designing software including the popular and free Primer3. The last item, specificity checking, requires searching the primers against a database of background DNA sequences to look for unintended matches. This is a job for BLAST.</p>
</div>
</div>
<p class=”margin-top-5”><small>Last Reviewed: September 22, 2023</small></p>
</div>
</main>
<!-- FOOTER -->
<footer class="usa-footer__primary-section padding-top-5 padding-bottom-3 insertfooter">
<div class="grid-container">
<div class="grid-row">
<div class="desktop:grid-col-3 grid-col-6"> <a href="https://www.nlm.nih.gov/socialmedia/index.html">
<p class="text-white margin-bottom-1">Connect with NLM</p>
</a>
<ul class="social_media add-list-reset">
<li class="margin-right-05"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/nationallibraryofmedicine"><img class="bg-secondary" src="https://www.nlm.nih.gov/images/facebook.svg" alt="Facebook"></a></li>
<li class="margin-right-05"><a title="External link: please review our privacy policy." href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/national-library-of-medicine-nlm/"><img class="bg-secondary" src="//www.nlm.nih.gov/images/linkedin.svg" alt="LinkedIn"></a></li>
<li class="margin-right-05"><a title="External link: please review our privacy policy." href="https://twitter.com/NLM_NIH"><img src="https://www.nlm.nih.gov/images/twitter.svg" class="padding-1 bg-secondary" alt="Twitter"></a></li>
<li class="margin-right-05"><a title="External link: please review our privacy policy." href="https://www.youtube.com/user/NLMNIH"><img src="//www.nlm.nih.gov/images/youtube.svg" class="bg-secondary" alt="You Tube"></a></li>
<li class="margin-right-05"><a title="External link: please review our privacy policy." href="https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/USNLMOCPL/subscriber/new?preferences=true"><img src="//www.nlm.nih.gov/images/mail.svg" class=" bg-secondary" alt="Government Delivery"></a></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="desktop:grid-col-3 grid-col-6">
<p class="address_footer text-white"> National Library of Medicine <br>
<a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/8600+Rockville+Pike,+Bethesda,+MD+20894/@38.9959508,-77.101021,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x89b7c95e25765ddb:0x19156f88b27635b8!8m2!3d38.9959508!4d-77.0988323" class="text-white"> 8600 Rockville Pike <br>
Bethesda, MD 20894 </a></p>
</div>
<div class="desktop:grid-col-3 grid-col-6">
<p><a href="/web_policies.html" class="text-white"> Web Policies </a><br>
<a href="https://www.nih.gov/institutes-nih/nih-office-director/office-communications-public-liaison/freedom-information-act-office" class="text-white"> FOIA </a><br>
<a href="https://www.hhs.gov/vulnerability-disclosure-policy/index.html" class="text-white">HHS Vulnerability Disclosure</a> </p>
</div>
<div class="desktop:grid-col-3 grid-col-6">
<p><a class="supportLink text-white" href="//support.nlm.nih.gov?from="> NLM Support Center </a> <br>
<a href="/accessibility.html" class="text-white"> Accessibility </a><br>
<a href="/careers/careers.html" class="text-white"> Careers </a></p>
</div>
</div>
<div class="grid-row">
<div class="grid-col-12">
<p class="text-center text-white"> <a class="text-white" href="//www.nlm.nih.gov/">NLM</a> | <a class="text-white" href="https://www.nih.gov/">NIH</a> | <a class="text-white" href="https://www.hhs.gov/">HHS</a> | <a class="text-white" href="https://www.usa.gov/">USA.gov</a></p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</footer>
<script src="//assets.nlm.nih.gov/uswds/js/uswds.min.js"></script>
<script src="//assets.nlm.nih.gov/jquery/jquery-latest.min.js"></script>
<script src="//assets.nlm.nih.gov/jquery/jquery-migrate-latest.min.js"></script>
<script src="/scripts/nlm_autocomplete.js"></script>
<script src="/scripts/nlm_uswds.js"></script>
<script src="/scripts/uswds_accordion_nav.js"></script>
</body>
</html>