Polymerase Chain Reaction and Qf3 Replicase Amplification

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and Q/3 replicase are two methods in which nucleic acid polymerases are used for amplification. Although these approaches share many similar problems concerning target contamination and probe specificity, they differ dramatically in their mechanisms of action and modes of application.The PCR method amplifies target sequences between two priming oligonucleotides and in essence amplifies a portion of the analyte. Q13 replicase, on the other hand, amplifies a specific template molecule hybridized to target sequences and therefore amplifies a signal component of the system. For this reason, Op replicase amplification has applications in areas other than for the detection of nucleic acid sequences. The requirements for application and the advantages of both PCR and O replicase amplification are reviewed.