Q.

During the process of gene amplification using PCR, if very high temperature is not maintained in the beginning, then which of the following steps of PCR will be affected first   [2021]

1 Ligation  
2 Annealing  
3 Extension  
4 Denaturation  

Ans.

(4)

In PCR, the repeated amplification is achieved by the use of a thermostable DNA polymerase, which remains active during the high temperature induced denaturation of double stranded DNA. So, if high temperature is not maintained, denaturation will be affected first as it is carried out at a higher temperature 94° to 96°C.