Path: utzoo!utgpu!attcan!uunet!husc6!psuvax1!rutgers!ucsd!ucbvax!pasteur!cory.Berkeley.EDU!jyamato
From: jyamato@cory.Berkeley.EDU (YAMATO JON AYAO)
Newsgroups: sci.bio
Subject: Re: Mammoth clones
Message-ID: <4837@pasteur.Berkeley.EDU>
Date: 3 Aug 88 22:53:46 GMT
References: <201200013@prism> <1364@cadre.dsl.PITTSBURGH.EDU> <2887@calmasd.GE.COM> <4786@pasteur.Berkeley.EDU> <252@heurikon.UUCP>
Sender: news@pasteur.Berkeley.EDU
Reply-To: jyamato@cory.Berkeley.EDU.UUCP (YAMATO JON AYAO)
Organization: University of California, Berkeley
Lines: 22

In article <252@heurikon.UUCP> lampman@heurikon.UUCP (Ray Lampman) writes:
>In article <4786@pasteur.Berkeley.EDU> jyamato@cory.Berkeley.EDU.UUCP (YAMATO JON AYAO) writes:
>>The limiting problem, I think, is fragmentation of the DNA--if your sample
>>does not contain at least one intact copy of the desired gene you're
>>out of luck.
>>
>>   Mary Kuhner
>
>Fragmemtation is not a problem if multiple copies of the damaged DNA are
>available. Just collect numerous samples and average out the damage.
>-- 
>I am seriously considering a career on  | Ray Lampman (608) 276-3431
>the beach. I'll need a microwave modem, | Madison Wisconsin USA Earth
My understanding of the PCR technique is that, since it depends on
chain synthesis starting from primers at both ends of a defined piece
of DNA, it will fail if the ends aren't connected to each other.  I
could be wrong.  At the American Society of Naturalists meeting I
saw a nice presentation on the use of PCR to sequence *outward*
from two defined primers (by circularizing the DNA!), a trick several
people had told me was impossible.

Mary Kuhner