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What are the limitations of Taq polymerase?
Posted June 22, 2020
Answer
Despite the extensive application of Taq polymerase in PCR reaction, this enzyme still has some limitations.
- Low specificity: Taq DNA polymerase has a lower specificity than the normal ones. Mismatches nucleotides could be added to the sequence by Taq polymerase.
- Low fidelity: Taq polymerase does not have 3’ to 5’ exonuclease proofreading activity, therefore mismatches nucleotides could not be corrected.
- Bivalent cation requirement: Taq polymerase requires cofactors, such as Mg2+ ion, to work properly.
Additional resources
6-ROX glycine *25 uM fluorescence reference solution for PCR reactions*Chen, S. C., Halliday, C. L., & Meyer, W. (2002). A review of nucleic acid-based diagnostic tests for systemic mycoses with an emphasis on polymerase chain reaction-based assays. Medical mycology, 40(4), 333-357.Chuang, L. Y., Cheng, Y. H., & Yang, C. H. (2013). Specific primer design for the polymerase chain reaction. Biotechnology letters, 35(10), 1541-1549.