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Module 3 - Home Page
The Great Gene Hunt

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Introduction to the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR):
Gene cloning is an important tool for studying the genes that enable bacteria to cause disease. One of the most commonly used techniques for gene cloning involves the polymerase chain reaction (PCR)
What is PCR?
PCR is a molecular biology technique for amplifying (or copying) a piece of DNA many times in the lab. It has many applications including:

  • detection of hereditary disease
  • diagnosis of infectious diseases
  • gene cloning
  • paternity testing
  • crime scenes
  • ancient DNA
pcr
After 20 PCR cycles, the target molecule will have amplified by over 1 billion-fold!

In this module you will:

Use the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to detect a virulence gene in Pseudomonas syringae
Learn about genetically modified organisms (GMOs): the potential of this technology and sources of controversy
Find out how scientists deal with uncertainty
Analyze a protein sequence using resources on the internet