266,037 views
33 votes
33 votes
What is the role of DNA primers in the polymerase chain reaction

What is the role of DNA primers in the polymerase chain reaction-example-1
User Jjlin
by
3.0k points

1 Answer

26 votes
26 votes

Answer:

A primer attaches to the start of the DNA sequence to be copied.

Step-by-step explanation:

Primers serve as the starting point for DNA synthesis. The polymerase enzyme can only add DNA bases to a double strand of DNA. Only once the primer has bound can the polymerase enzyme attach and start making the new complementary strand of DNA from the loose DNA bases.

DNA Primer is a short sequence of the single-strand of DNA, and in the PCR technique, a pair of primers is used. The important role that a DNA primer performs in PCR is that it defines the region of DNA that is to be amplified and helps in hybridizing the sample DNA. It determines the origin of DNA synthesis, and once the primer is attached, the polymerase enzyme activity is initiated and that starts attaching complementary bases.

User Herchu
by
2.6k points