Question: Which of the following is the first and the most important step in the polymerase chain reaction?
A Annealing
B Primer extension
C Denaturation
D None of the above
Answer: Denaturation
| Steps involved in PCR | Description |
| Denaturation | · Heating of the DNA sample to a high temperature usually around 94-98°C.
· This process separates the double-stranded DNA into two single strands and provides a template for amplification. |
| Annealing | · Annealing involves lowering of the temperature typically around 50-65°C.
· This allows primers to bind to the single-stranded DNA template. · Primer sequences are specific to the target DNA. |
| Extension | · Extension includes raising the temperature upto 72°C.
· DNA polymerase extends the primers by adding nucleotides, synthesizing a complementary strand. · The enzyme builds a new DNA strand from the template. · The target DNA is amplified in this step. |