Question

Which of the following does NOT determine the annealing temperature of a primer?

a. Secondary structures
b. G/C content
c. Length
d. All are important

Answer 1

The annealing temperature of a primer is influenced by secondary structures, G/C content, and length, thus all are important in determining it.

Step-by-step explanation:

The annealing temperature of a primer during polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is an important factor that can influence the efficiency and specificity of the amplification process. The annealing temperature is determined by several factors:

• Secondary structures of the primer, which can create regions within the primer that are more resistant to binding.
• The G/C content of the primer sequence, as guanine and cytosine pairs form three hydrogen bonds, making them more thermostable than adenine and thymine pairs which form only two hydrogen bonds.
• The length of the primer, since longer primers will have more opportunities to form hydrogen bonds with the DNA template, requiring a higher annealing temperature.

All of these factors contribute to determining the optimal annealing temperature for PCR. Therefore, the correct answer is d. All are important.