Amplicon
Oxford Dictionary of Genetics:
Top
Amplicon
a segment of the genome that forms multiple linear copies after exposure of the organism to a compound that inhibits the functioning of a gene in the segment. For example, in mammals the enzyme dihydrofolate reductase (q.v.) is inhibited by methotrexate (q.v.). Exposure to this inhibitor causes amplification of the DHFR gene. More generally, the term amplicons is used for DNA fragments that have been generated in experiments utilizing the polymerase chain reaction (q.v.).
Oxford Dictionary of Biochemistry:
Top
amplicon
a segment of chromosomal DNA that undergoes amplification or contains multiple copies of a gene.
| ampicillin-sensitive, ampicillin-resistant, ampicillin | |
| amplification, amplification refractory mutation system, amplifier |
Wikipedia on Answers.com:
Top
Amplicon
 |
This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2009) |
An amplicon is a piece of DNA formed as the product of natural or artificial amplification events. For example, it can be formed via polymerase chain reactions (PCR) or ligase chain reactions (LCR), as well as by natural gene duplication.
Artificial amplification can be used to determine sex from a human DNA sample. The loci of Alu element insertion is selected, amplified and evaluated in terms of size of the fragment. The sex assay utilizes AluSTXa for the X chromosome, AluSTYa for the Y chromosome, or both AluSTXa and AluSTYa, to reduce the possibility of error to a negligible quantity. The inserted chromosome yields a large fragment when the homologous region is amplified. The males are distinguished as having two DNA amplicons present, while females have only a single amplicon. The kit adapted for carrying out the method includes a pair of primers to amplify the locus and optionally polymerase chain reaction reagents.
 |
This molecular biology article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
Post a question - any question - to the WikiAnswers community:
Copyrights:
Oxford Dictionary of Genetics
A Dictionary of Genetics. © 2006
Oxford University Press.
All rights reserved.
Read more
Oxford Dictionary of Biochemistry
Oxford University Press. Oxford Dictionary of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology © 1997, 2000, 2006 All rights reserved.
Read more
