Lab3 Flashcards
What is PCR used to?
To amplify a single or a few copies of DNA, generating thousands of copies of that particular DNA sequence.
What is the advantages of PCR?
- fast method
- specific
- sensitive
- robust
- valuable data
What is the disadvantages of PCR?
- targeted investigation
- needs specific equipment
- false negative result may be obtained
- false positive result may be obtained
Types of false negative result of PCR
damaged NA in the sample, prescence of inhibitory complex in the sample, mutations in the virus influencing primer annealing
Types of false positive result of PCR
Annealing of not virus-specific NA;
In chromatography method the virus suspension (sample or virus isolate) is mixed with?
a lysis buffer containing proteinase K for the lysis of the cells and virus particles.
What is the proteinase K for?
lysis of cells and virus particles.
What is added to the precipitation of the NA?
chromatography
Ethanol
Why is ethanol added after the incubation time? (chromatography)
for the precipitation of the NA,
What happens during centrifugation? (chromatography)
The fluid goes through the filter, to which the NA is bound, but the digested protein molecules (peptides, amino acids) and the fluid goes through
What is the function of the elution buffer? (chromatopgraphy)
It releases the NA from the filter and is also used as restoration buffer.
The PCR method relies on?
thermal cycling
What does the thermal cycling consist of? (PCR)
consisting of cycles of repeated heating and cooling of the reaction mixture
Why is the thermal cycling steps necessary? (PCR)
first to physically separate the two strands in a DNA double helix at a high temperature (DNA melting)
How does each strand act at a lower temperature? (PCR)
each strand act as a template in DNA synthesis by the DNA polymerase to selectively amplify the target DNA
What happens as the PCR progresses?
the DNA template is exponentially amplified.
What are the optimal conditions for PCR?
if there are no limiting factors such as substrates or reagents at each extension step
What happens under optimal conditions of PCR?
the amount of DNa target is doubled in each cycle.
The selectivity of PCR results from the us of?
primers that are short, usually 18-25 nucleotides long, single -stranded oligodeoxynucleotide (DNA) molecules, complementary to the (viral) DNA region targeted for amplification
The primers are designed using?
computer programs that select and evaluate short sequences of the viral DNA that are suitable for being usd as primers
Primer design is based on?
the genome sequence of the target virus (available in gene bank databases)
What is the primer necessary for?
the polymerase enzyme as an initiator of the polymerisation
A basic PCR set up requires several components and reagents:
- DNA template that contains the DNA region (target) to be amplified.
- Two primers that are complementary to a short segment of the sense and anti-sense strands
of the DNA target. - Heat resistant polymerase enzyme (i. e. Taq polymerase) with a temperature optimum at
around 72 °C. In case of RNA PCR, the enzyme mix also contains reverse transcriptase
enzyme, that transcribes DNA from the template RNA. - Deoxynucleoside triphosphates (dNTPs), the monomers from which the DNA polymerase
synthesizes a new DNA strand. - Buffer solution, providing a suitable chemical environment for optimum activity and
stability of the DNA polymerase. - NAase-free water
- In case of RNA template RNase inhibitor is added to the mixture to prevent the degradation
of the sample RNA by RNase enzymes.
What is Taq polymerase?
Heat resistant polymerase enzyme