Quick PCR ques.

[harald at mol.univie.ac.at]

In article <5ssrkc$6s0$1 at netnews.upenn.edu>, dcarpio at mail1.sas.upenn.edu says...
>
>I'm having a few problems with my PCR protocol, and I've heard that 
>having *too many* dNTPs can inhibit the reaction.  I was wondering what the 
>reason for that would be.  
>
>Any thoughts?
>
>Dave

Hi, Dave!

This is straightforward to answer: a high dNTP concentration inhibits Taq
polymerase. You could have a look at the

Current Protocols in Molecular Biology (CPMB) supplement 30 page 15.1.8
(1995 John Wiley & Son Inc.)

or if you have no access to them I will fax you this page.

Actually, I thought as many other that a high dNTP excess will favour the reaction. 
However, this is NOT true.


hope this helps, Harald