How Taq Dna Polymerase Is Essential In Pcr Amplification

The Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) is a method developed for the purpose of the amplification of specific DNA sequences. In this context, Taq DNA Polymerase emerges as the defining enzyme in terms of the efficiency and specificity of the DNA amplification process.

What is Taq DNA Polymerase?

Taq DNA Polymerase is an enzyme obtained from the thermophilic bacterium Thermus aquaticus which is commonly found in hot springs. The enzyme is also characterized by its remarkable temperature resistance which in turn allows it to catalyze PCR which is a repeating process of heating and cooling of the DNA Fragments

Function in PCR

In the first step of PCR, a double-stranded DNA specimen is subjected to heat in order to separate the two strands. Introduction of Taq DNA Polymerase follows and then the new strands of DNA are synthesised using the single-stranded templates that act as the nucleotides; the Taq DNA attaches the correct bases to the template strand of the nucleotides. This process is crucial as it determines the quantity and quality that is expected from the product.

High-Temperature Tolerance

One of the most pronounced characteristics of Taq DNA Polymerase is that it delivers optimum activity at high temperatures of about 75-80 °C. This high temperature gap serves the purpose of not only aiding the melting of DNA strands but further improving the specificity of primer binding thereby inhibiting the chances of non-specific amplification. Others may not offer such extremes. This gives Taq an advantage in most PCR protocols.

Speed and efficiency

Taq DNA polymerase has also been shown to have speed in amplification. This is because it has a relatively higher elongation rate thus making the PCR cycles faster. This efficiency is very important in a number of procedures and includes cloning, sequencing, diagnostics and forensic approaches among others.

To conclude, Taq DNA polymerase cannot be replaced as its properties of very high temperature tolerance, efficiency and specificity make this reagent especially important in PCR amplification working. Since then, molecular biology research has been greatly facilitated by the advent of this enzyme which allowed the scientists to look into the very essence of living matter and its genes as never before. The fact that Taq DNA Polymerase is still a routinely used reagent in laboratories is a clear testament to the fact that the reagent serves its purpose well in science and medicine.