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We developed a bioinformatic tool for designing probe sequences for PCR-based genotyping assays. © 2018 Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press. This method, originally named by its developers as Kompetitive Allele Specific PCR (KASP), is an AS-PCR variant adapted for fluorescence-based detection of amplification results. Methods of hot-start PCR employ an enzyme modifier such as an antibody, affibody, aptamer, or chemical modification to inhibit DNA polymerase activity at room temperature. need to carry an alternative antibiotic to use if severe diarrhea develops. The use of touchdown PCR is essential when the sequence of the primer might not match that of the target-for example, if the sequence of the primer has been deduced from amino acid sequences, when the template DNA may contain several closely related targets, or when the target DNA is of a different species from that used to design the primers. Hot-start PCR is commonly used to enhance specificity in PCR amplification. Travelers diarrhea (TD) is the most predictable travel-related illness. To minimize mispriming during the early stages of the PCR, touchdown PCR should always be performed in conjunction with a hot start protocol. By then, the target sequence will have undergone several cycles of geometric amplification and therefore becomes the dominant product of the PCR. In subsequent cycles, the annealing temperature is gradually decreased by a small amount so that by the end of the PCR, the annealing temperature is 2☌-5☌ below the calculated T m of the primers. Annealing under conditions of high stringency favors the formation of perfect primer-template hybrids.
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In touchdown PCR the temperature selected for the annealing step is initially set 5☌-10☌ higher than the calculated T m of the primers. Touchdown (TD) PCR offers a simple and rapid means to optimize PCRs, increasing specicity, sensitivity and yield, without the need for lengthy optimizations and/or the redesigning of primers. "Touchdown polymerase chain reaction (PCR)" is a method to decrease off-target priming and hence to increase the specificity of PCRs.
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