16s Rrna Synthesis Lab Report

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Bacteria are present on everything and everyone. There is such an abundance of bacteria, that all the different species have yet to be discovered (source). Despite there being billions of bacteria, they all share one common trait which is the 16S rRNA gene. The 16S rRNA gene is a universal gene in all bacteria and that is why it was chosen for this experiment. Using the 16S rRNA makes it possible to identify the species based on its gene sequence. (Clarridge, J. E.2004) The purpose of this experiment was to identify a sample of an unknown bacteria through the process of PCR amplification, gel electrophoresis, and cycle sequencing reaction. Along with those process, biochemical test such as the KOH string test, catalase, and oxidase test was also used to help identify the unknown species of bacteria, which would help tell us if the bacteria were gram negative or positive. …show more content…
PCR is a technique used to amplify copies of a target gene, in the case of this experiment, 16S rRNA was amplified. PCR occurs in a few stages, all of which needs a thermocycler. The product is heated to a temperature of about 95°C. The denaturing stage allows the separation of the DNA strains, which is used as a template for this process. The reaction is then cooled down, allowing the annealing process to begin. The annealing process allows primers to attach to a certain part of the DNA which serves as the beginning point for the DNA synthesis. The last process of the PCR is the extending stage. The product is heated up again and the Taq DNA polymerase adds DNA bases. These processes are then repeated about 40 times(Yourgenome