1. PCR stands for Polymerase Chain Reaction.
2. Genomic DNA is the entire set of genetic information for an organism, whereas target
DNA is the section of DNA that is of interest.
3. There are two copies of chromosome 16 per cheek cell nucleus.
4. A PCR primer is typically 24 base pairs that are complimentary to the beginning
nucleotide sequence of the target DNA. A nucleotide is a single molecule that binds to
its complimentary base pair. A chromosome is supercoiled DNA made up of millions of
base pairs.
5. Using high heat causes the two DNA strands to separate from each other, exposing the
nucleotides to the PCR primers so that the primers can come in and bind to their
complimentary pairs.
6. The PCR primers bind to their complimentary base pairs via hydrogen bonding at the
beginning of the target DNA sequence.
7. Annealing allows the PCR primers to bind to the start of the target DNA, which allows
Taq polymerase to bind to the desired section of DNA and add complimentary
nucleotides. After repeating this process multiple times, you are left with segments of
DNA that are mostly replications of your target DNA.
8. Tm= 4(7+1) + 2(12+5)
= 66
9. Taq polymerase is isolated from Thermus aqaticus, a bacteria that lives in high heat
environments. Taq polymerase works optimally at around 70 – 75 degrees C.
10. After 20 cycles there are 1,048,576 copies of the target DNA.
11. 1024 nanograms of DNA.
12. 0.9% NaCl is used to collect cheek cells to keep the cells in a similar salt solution that is
in the mouth.
