BIO 150 Study Guide
to accompany Forensic Biology by Richard Li (2008)
Chapter 14: DNA Amplification by Polymerase Chain Reaction
1.
This enables for the exponential amplification of specific sequences of DNA to yield molecules known as amplicons:
a. RFLP
b. PCR
c. RNA
d. mtDNA
2.
Which of the following are PCR based forensic DNA assays?
a. Short Tandem Repeat profiling
b. Mitochondrial DNA sequencing
c. DNA Quantitation
d. All of the above
3.
Real time PCR allows for:
a. The monitoring of amplicon production at each cycle of the PCR process
b. The monitoring of amplicon production at the end of the PCR process
c. The monitoring of amplicon production at the beginning of cycle of the PCR process
d. PCR primers
4.
In PCR, an S-shaped amplification curve is divided into three phases:
a. Beginning, middle, end
b. Primary, secondary, and tertiary
c. Exponential, linear phase, plateau
d. Exponential, circular, and plateau
5.
A PCR reaction requires which of the following basic components?
a. PCR Primers, STR, RFLP
b. PCR amplification, unstable DNA polymerase
c. STR, RNA, mtDNA
d. Thermostable DNA polymerase, PCR primers, monovalent cations
6.
Which is the most commonly used DNA polymerase for forensic applications?
a. Human DNA polymerase
b. Taq DNA polymerase
c. E. coli DNA polymerase
d. None of the above
7.
Which of the following can minimize non-specific annealing during PCR amplification:
a. Real time PCR
b. Hot start PCR
c. PCR Primers
d. None of the above
8.
These are defined as the oliogonucleotides that are complementary to the sequences which flank the target region of
the template in PCR:
a. PCR primers
b. Real time PCR
c. Hot start PCR
d. STR
9.
This allows for the amplification of more than one region of a template simultaneously in a single reaction:
a. Multiplex PCR
b. Real time PCR
c. Hot start PCR
d. RFLP
10. Typically, how much template DNA is utilized in PCR reactions for forensic applications?
a. <1 ng
b. 1 ng
c. 1-2.5 ng
d. 2.5-3 ng
11. A PCR cycle consists of three steps in the following order:
a. Thermostable DNA polymerase, PCR primers, buffer
b. Denaturation, annealing, extension
c. Denaturation, renaturation, extension
d. None of the above
12. During the annealing cycle, if the annealing temperature is too low:
a. A very low quantity of amplicon is produced
b. Non specific amplification can occur
c. The number of cycles must be redone
d. The DNA sample is degraded
13. In PCR cycles, by the end of each cycle, the copy number of the amplicon is nearly _______________.
a. Tripled
b. Doubled
c. Decreased
d. Quadrupled
14. PCR amplification is carried out by which of the following instruments?
a. Thermal cycler
b. Thermal tumbler
c. Multiplex
d. All of the above
15. When two alleles in a heterozygous individual are unequally detected at a low level of starting DNA template, it is
referred to as:
a. The Stochastic Effect
b. PCR degridation
c. PCR inhibition
d. Both a and c
16. Which of the following is an example of a PCR inhibitor?
a. Indigo dyes
b. mtDNA
c. RNA
d. STR
17. Please choose which of the following is an example of a control to monitor PCR contamination:
a. Reagent blanks
b. Negative controls
c. RNA
d. Both a and b
18. This is defined as a linear molecule containing four types of nucleotides linked together by phosphdiester bonds:
a. Polymerase Chain Reaction
b. Short Tandem Repeat
c.
d.
Ribonucleic acid
Reverse Transcriptase-PCR
19. Who coined the term “central dogma”?
a. Francis Crick
b. James Watson
c. Kary Mullis
d. None of the above
20. Reverse Transcriptase-PCR is a method used to amplify ____________________ copies of RNA.
a. RT-PCR
b. cDNA
c. mtDNa
d. PCR