What does one need to amplify DNA using PCR?
Since PCR is, basically, replication of DNA in a test-tube, all the usual ingredients needed for DNA replication are required: A template (the DNA that is being copied) Primers (to initiate the synthesis of the new DNA strands) DNA polymerase (to carry out the synthesis) dNTPs (nucleotide precursors). The template is the DNA that contains the target you want to amplify. The primers are synthetic DNA molecules whose sequence matches a region flanking the target you are trying to amplify. It is possible nowadays, to chemically synthesize DNA molecules of any given base sequence, to use as primers. To make primers of the correct sequence that will bind to the template DNA, it is necessary to know a little bit of the template sequence, on either side of the region of DNA you wish to amplify. DNA polymerase and dNTPs are commercially available from biotechnology supply companies.
