De-constructed Polymerase Chain Reaction (DePCR) as a novel methodology to tackle PCR Bias. metagenome

PCR bias, in which some templates within a mixture of templates are preferentially amplified, is a well-known phenomenon. The bias deriving from PCR amplification can be enhanced in the presence of a complex mixture of templates and in the presence of a degenerate primer pool. Our motive with this study is to understand this bias better so as to be able to decrease its effects. We bring this study not only with the motive of developing a new PCR strategy, but to explore issues relating to primer-template bias. As part of this work, we have developed a novel methodology to directly measure primer-template interactions, and have used this methodology to study fundamental properties of the polymerase chain reaction.