Why is broad-range 16S rDNA PCR a good option for the detection of bacteria?
Broad-range 16S rDNA PCR is a favorable way of detecting
bacteria in samples due to two reasons.
- First, the use of highly conserved
regions in the 16S rRNA gene allows the amplification of sequences from any
bacterial strain. Mastermix 16S Complete
includes primers binding to the conserved regions V3/V4 of the 16S rRNA gene.
The sequence of the amplicons allows the identification of Gram-positive and
Gram-negative bacteria up to the species level.
- Second, because of the
multicopy status of the 16S rRNA gene, the sensitivity of the detection of
bacterial DNA is very high (see “sensitivity of detection”).