Why are the two strands of nucleotides in a DNA molcule required to be separated during PCR?
Question
Why are the two strands of nucleotides in a DNA molecule required to be separated during PCR?
Solution
The two strands of nucleotides in a DNA molecule need to be separated during Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) for several reasons:
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Denaturation: The first step in PCR is denaturation. This is where the double-stranded DNA molecule is heated to break the hydrogen bonds between the base pairs. This separation results in two single strands of DNA.
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Annealing: The next step is annealing. Here, short pieces of DNA called primers attach themselves to each of the single strands. The primers are designed to bind at the start and end of the section of DNA to be copied. However, they can only bind if the two strands of the DNA molecule have been separated.
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Extension: The final step is extension. Here, an enzyme called DNA polymerase attaches itself to the primers and adds nucleotides to extend the sequence. This can only occur if the DNA strands are separated, as the enzyme needs to be able to read the sequence of nucleotides on the single strand in order to create a complementary strand.
In summary, the two strands of nucleotides in a DNA molecule need to be separated during PCR to allow the primers and DNA polymerase to bind and create new copies of the desired DNA sequence.
Similar Questions
What are the three components of a nucleotide?
What is one part of a nucleotide that differs among the four different nucleotides?
Fragments of DNA formed after treatment with endonucleases are separated by the technique of _______
The bonds that hold the two strands of DNA together come from a. the attraction of phosphate groups for each other b. strong bonds between nitrogenous bases and deoxyribose c. weak hydrogen bonds between the nitrogenous bases d. carbon-to-carbon bonds in the sugar portion of the nucleotides.
_catalyses the formation of phosphodiester bond between two deoxynucleotide residues of two DNA strands
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