Question

What do the master mixes contain during the PCR step of this lab?

1) Primers, nucleotides, DNA template, and Taq polymerase
2) Primers, nucleotides, and DNA template
3) Primers, nucleotides, and Taq polymerase
4) Primers, DNA template, and Taq polymerase

Answer 1

The PCR master mix contains primers, nucleotides, DNA template, and Taq polymerase, which is necessary for amplifying the specific DNA segment.

Step-by-step explanation:

The master mixes during the PCR step of the lab contain several critical components. These include primers that are short pieces of DNA complementary to each end of the target sequence, nucleotides (also known as deoxynucleotide triphosphates or dNTPs) which are the building blocks for new DNA strands, the DNA template which is the specific segment of DNA that needs to be amplified, and Taq polymerase, a heat-stable DNA polymerase. This enzyme, which is derived from the bacterium Thermus aquaticus, is capable of synthesizing DNA at the high temperatures used during PCR. Therefore, the correct answer to the question is '1) Primers, nucleotides, DNA template, and Taq polymerase'.