polymerase chain reaction (PCR)

解説

容器内でDNAを人工的に合成する反応．
1983年にKary B. Mullisにより原理が考えられたが，Saiki et al.（1985）で知られることになった．方法自体はMullis & Faloona（1987）で発表された．
現在では自動化され，生物学の研究を行う上で必要不可欠な技術になっている．

An enzymatic technique for the rapid production of millions of copies of a particular stretch of DNA where only a small amount of the parent molecule is available.

Technique used to replicate a fragment of DNA so as to produce many copies of a particular DNA sequence.

Mullis, K. B. & Faloona, F. A. 1987. Specific synthesis of DNA in vitro via a polymerase-catalyzed chain reaction. Methods Enzymol. 155: 335-350.
Saiki, R. K., Scharf, S., Faloona, F., Mullis, K. B., Horn, G. T., Erlich, H. A. & Arnheim, N. 1985. Enzymatic amplification of beta-globin genomic sequences and restriction site analysis for diagnosis of sickle cell anemia. Science 230: 1350–1354.
Sadava, D., Hillis, D. M., Heller, H. C. & Berenbaum, M. R. 2011. Life: The Science of Biology, 9th ed. -xliv + 1266 pp. Sinauer Associates, Inc., Sunderland.
Willis, K. J. & McElwain, J. C. 2014. The Evolution of Plants, 2nd ed. -ix + 398 pp. Oxford University Press, Oxford.