Question

What are the 3 steps of PCR? Briefly (like 1 sentence) describe what happens during each step

Answer 1

The three steps of PCR includes-

Denaturation- the PCR mixture is heated at a high temperature (at about 90-95°C), as a result of which hydrogen bonds holding the two strands of parental DNA breaks, and the strands separate. The separated strands then serve as template for the synthesis of new daughter strands.

Primer annealing- the temperature is lowered to 50-60°C, which favours primer binding to the separated strands. These primers will be extended in the next step.

Extension- temperature is increased to about 72-74°C. At this temperature, DNA Polymerase extends the strands using free nucleotides present in the mixture.