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| Chimeras |
What is a chimera and how are they produced?
The chimera was a beast in Greek mythology made up of
parts from four different creatures. Also of interest here is
that eventually this beast was slain by Bellerophon - hence the name of
the algorithm that removes chimeric sequences from your file. In
microbiology, chimeras are DNA sequences composed of DNA from two or
more parents. They are aritfacts made during the PCR process.
On occasion, an amplicon may terminate prematurely before it is
completely finished.
When PCR picks up again in the next cycle another DNA strand may
attach where the first left off if the starting region is similar
enough, and complete the amplicon from this second parent. If this
sequence were to go straight to classification without being
checked for chimeric status it would likely be returned as a novel
sequence. This would give the researcher the false impression
that they have discovered a previously unknown organism when in fact it
is merely a combination of two previously classified microbes.
PCR (link/page not yet created - awaiting creation of whole wet lab protocol)
Greengenes Main |
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