why is human DNA depletion important for PCR assay sensitivity

What benefit has human DNA depletion before a PCR assay of bacteria and fungi?

A high proportion of human DNA can lead to non-specific primer binding to human DNA, which can result in false-positive PCR signals.

In addition, an excess of human DNA limits the accessibility of primers to specific sites on the 16S/18S rRNA target genes, which reduces the sensitivity of the assays.

Depletion of human DNA, therefore, significantly increases the sensitivity of the detection of bacterial and fungal DNA.


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