Working with DNA is the bread and butter for molecular biologists, and PCR is one of the most common techniques in the lab. Today we will examine Polymerase Chain Reaction by walking through and explaining an interactive PCR experiment step by step in the lab. In this example, we are working with a new bacterial strain, which may be resistant to many different antibiotics. We can extract genomic DNA from the bacteria and run a PCR to see if we can detect any antibiotic resistance genes in its genome. We can then visualise the PCR products through gel electrophoresis.
My name is Jack Wang, a microbiologist and science educator, and the 2020 Australian University Teacher of the Year. You can find out more about my work here: jackwang.com.au
The blog post accompanying this video: jackwang.com.au/blog/signalvnoise
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#biolabcollective #pcr #science #teaching #laboratory #dna
00:00 Introduction
00:59 PCR ingredients
02:37 Mastermix calculation & preparation
04:02 3 phases of PCR
04:59 Gel electrophoresis
06:39 Loading the gel
07:42 Interpreting results