PCR or Polymerase Chain Reaction mimics DNA replication. PCR starts with a template DNA (or RNA) and generates new copies of DNA by synthesizing using a heat-stable DNA polymerase.Even when starting with an RNA template, after one round of synthesis, the resulting DNA is used as the template for further replication. The real discovery for PCR was the discovery of the heat-stable DNA polymerase. This enzyme, called Taq-man, was isolated from a hot spring in Yellowstone National Park. Becuase it has evolved to live in a very hot environment, the organism, Thermophilus aquaticus, has proteins that do not denature from heat. PCR works by synthesizing a round of DNA, then heating to a temperature that denatures the DNA, making the double-stranded newly synthesized DNA melt into single strands, so that both strands can then serve as templates for the next round of synthesis. Normal DNA polymerase would be permanently inactivated in the heating step.
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PCR or Polymerase Chain Reaction mimics DNA replication. PCR starts with a template DNA (or RNA) and generates new copies of DNA by synthesizing using a heat-stable DNA polymerase.Even when starting with an RNA template, after one round of synthesis, the resulting DNA is used as the template for further replication. The real discovery for PCR was the discovery of the heat-stable DNA polymerase. This enzyme, called Taq-man, was isolated from a hot spring in Yellowstone National Park. Becuase it has evolved to live in a very hot environment, the organism, Thermophilus aquaticus, has proteins that do not denature from heat. PCR works by synthesizing a round of DNA, then heating to a temperature that denatures the DNA, making the double-stranded newly synthesized DNA melt into single strands, so that both strands can then serve as templates for the next round of synthesis. Normal DNA polymerase would be permanently inactivated in the heating step.