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The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has essentially been designed to amplify specific regions within DNA molecules. This requires
knowledge of the local nucleic acid sequence to design primer oligonucleotides. However, to generate DNA fingerprints, the
PCR can be modified in a way that facilitates the random amplification of elements for which the precise nucleotide sequence
is not known. When DNA is subjected to PCR at relatively low annealing temperatures while using relative short DNA primers
of non-specific sequence, amplification is often targeted towards a larger number of domains within the template. Post-PCR
analysis of these fragments, usually using electrophoretic technologies, results in strain-specific fingerprints due to small
differences in primer annealing sites or the selective presence or absence of certain DNA domains among strains. These procedures
are collectively called random amplification of polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analyses and have been very useful in high-speed, high-throughput
screening for DNA variation among strains of a wide variety of microbial species and isolates within these species. This chapter
describes the basic features of this technology, including an experimental protocol that can essentially be applied to DNA
from all species of microorganisms.
Affiliation(s): (2) Institute for Hygiene, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
(3) Hogeschool Leiden, Department of Post Graduate Courses, Leiden, The Netherlands
(4) Erasmus MC, University Hospital Rotterdam, Department of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Unit Research and Development, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
(3) Hogeschool Leiden, Department of Post Graduate Courses, Leiden, The Netherlands
(4) Erasmus MC, University Hospital Rotterdam, Department of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Unit Research and Development, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Series: Methods in Molecular Biology | Volume: 551 | Pub. Date: Feb-01-2009 | Page Range: 37-47 | DOI: 10.1007/978-1-60327-999-4_4
Subject: Cell Biology
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